My comments are included in today's ARTnews article about the Bazelon et al v. Pace Gallery case regarding a sculpture whose attribution to Louise Nevelson is in question:
And as New York–based adviser David Shapiro, a certified member of the Appraisers Association of America, put it, “An appraiser’s job is to reflect what’s happening in the market. If we think a work wouldn’t be perceived as authentic, that must factor into the value. And if new information emerges, an appraiser can change their mind—so long as it’s disclosed.”
(l.) Banksy, Love is in the Bin, 2018 (formerly Girl with Balloon, 2006); (r.) Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian, 2018
Banksy and the Banana
When appraising art, the most relevant comparable sales are usually those by the same artist. If there are no appropriate comps, one may, by necessity, look to other artists. Find yourself appraising a Mantegna painting with no useful auction sales in 20+ years, you might look at the recent Botticelli sales to gain an understanding of present demand for significant Italian Renaissance paintings.
Doing such is relatively uncommon when appraising contemporary art, particularly by well-known artists whose works sell regularly at auction and privately. Yet, if I were appraising Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, the duct-taped banana that sold this week at Sotheby’s, New York for $6.2 million against an estimate of $1-1.5M, I would do just that.
Comedian is hardly alone within Cattelan’s oeuvre to trade in shock value, not even among works that have sold publicly. Known for his 18-karat gold toilet, America, created for the Guggenheim in 2016, Cattelan’s auction record was set the same year when, that May, one of three editions of Him (2001), a slightly under-life-size sculpture of Hitler sold for $17,189,000 for at Christie’s, NY. And yet, chilling as it may have been, this sculpture (an edition of which sold to Holocaust survivor Stefan Edlis) caused no great media spectacle, nor, perhaps more fundamentally, did it cogently pose any essential questions about the status of art itself.
It was not another Cattelan, but rather a Banksy that had me convinced that Comedian would perform far beyond its estimate, and enormously above its primary-market realized price of $120,000 at Perrotin’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2018. The appreciation rate of 50x seems about right given the sentiment that it tapped, as well as the attendant press, now coupled with deft marketing.
The best comparable is, in my view, the Banksy, formerly known as Girl with Balloon, which sold, considerably above estimate, for $1,364,669, at Sotheby’s London; upon hammering, the painting dropped and partially shredded. The owner kept the work, and the stunt became an instant media sensation. The shredded Banksy was offered again just three years later, again at Sotheby’s London, this time with a lofty estimate of £4,000,000 - £6,000,000 ($ 5,473,340 - $ 8,210,010), and it made multiples, fetching, with buyer’s premium £18,582,000 ($ 25,426,401), a new record for the artist.
Notoriety sells, without question. But why does a work become notorious? The commonalities extend beyond mere shock. Cattelan’s conceptual modified-readymade and Banksy’s shredded painting share tropes of self-destruction and decomposition, each updating concepts explored by artists for generations. Further, both fundamentally question the meaning and limits of what constitutes a work of art. For these reasons, I consider Love is in the Bin to be a pertinent comp for Comedian, arguably the most pertinent — and its repeat(-ish) sale in 2021 for 18 times higher than the 2018 sale is what caused me to believe that Comedian would soar as it did.
AI Art Valuations
I am hardly alone among appraisers to be blistering over Daniel Cassady’s article published in ARTnews last week, initially titled “AI Art Valuations Are Starting to Give Some Market Players an Edge,” then quietly subsequently changed on the website to “AI Art Valuation Companies Think They Can Give Market Players an Edge.” [NB: Notwithstanding the title change, almost all of the article remains intact, and the initial title is unchanged on the magazine’s Instagram account.]
It is extremely problematic to peer into our profession, as Mr. Cassady does, and blithely suggest that certain appraisers have an “edge” over others, and further, that appraisers using AI can “appraise works more quickly and accurately than ever before.” Mr. Cassady offers no grounding for such sweeping claims about the relative speed or accuracy with which we do our jobs. Instead, he relies on unsubstantiated testimonials from a small group of tech-forward actors who appear to be advocating for their own business interests.
To the tech-as-panacea crowd, there is seemingly always an innovation to be hailed as transformative, but art appraisal relies on real—not artificial—intelligence, diverse lived experience in the art world, networks of relationships in an array of allied professions, and a large body of knowledge cultivated over time.
In addressing the use of technology in appraisal, Mr. Cassady should offer concrete examples of how, if at all, the blockchain, AI, or other technology can meaningfully augment appraisal. He should also address the major limitations of technology in a field in which individual expertise is critical. Mr. Cassady does his readers a disservice by failing to include commentary from relevant professionals who feel that the above-mentioned technology does not meaningfully augment apprasial, and may be a superfluous business cost.
The most egregious issue in the article is, in my view, Mr. Cassady’s uncritical use of unreliable sources, above all, appraiser Carolyn Taylor. Mr. Cassady writes: “Along the way, I became an appraiser and was shocked at how that industry ran,” Taylor told ARTnews. “After a few years, it became very clear there were no neutral appraisers. Every appraisal firm is also a dealer.”
Ms. Taylor is also a member of the Appraisers Association of America. As such, she must be compliant with the current (2024) edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), which states in its “Definitions” section that an appraiser is “one who is expected to perform valuation services competently and in a manner that is independent, impartial, and objective” (p. 3). The language of neutrality is found throughout USPAP. The “Conduct” section of the Ethics Rule of USPAP reiterates that an appraiser “must perform assignments with impartiality, objectivity, and independence, and without accommodation of personal interests” (p. 9).
It is not only wrong but frankly unprofessional for Ms. Taylor to assert that there are “no neutral appraisers,” when, in fact, all serious professional appraisers in this country, herself included, have in essence, taken a vow of neutrality with respect to the works they are appraising, by complying with USPAP.
An appraiser may indeed have commercial interest in works not being appraised at the time. Many professional appraisers also work in an advisory capacity, acting in the interests of their clients for purchases and/or sales; these assignments, when undertaken properly, do not compromise the appraiser’s “neutrality,” nor do they necessarily make these parties “dealers.” It should be noted, further, that many appraisers do not work in an advisory capacity, nor as private dealers.
Mr. Cassady errs again when he uncritically cites Taylor a second time: “Appraisal Bureau’s neutrality has fostered strong relationships with galleries, according to Taylor, who are more willing to share data with a company not involved in sales.”
Mr. Cassady offers no evidence to support this statement, nor is the assertion balanced with comments from appraisers whose experience proves otherwise. I, for example, routinely work with my professional gallery contacts – or make new ones – to learn about relevant private sales, as necessary, to give credible, accurate valuations. The fact that I also assist clients in an advisory capacity for other works does not impact my neutrality as an appraiser, nor does it compromise my ability to secure the necessary data for an assignment.
Appraisal Bureau’s claimed “neutrality” is not in fact a point of difference in a profession in which all reputable appraisers have vowed impartiality, and to suggest as such, is misleading. Mr. Cassady should have further researched this matter before using a source who apparently distorted the truth to promote her own business in a quotation.
As for the larger question of the use of AI in art appraisal, I have much more to say about the severe limitations of its applicability. More to come on this topic.