Nina - Click for details Question:
I am going through a divorce, and trying to separate property. While my Verdult has an "insurance appraisal" of $125,000 I need to know what the fair market value is. Thanks.

Answer:
Please see our previous posts on value. here is the answer to your specific question:

Reference: The Fair Market Value for Artwork by William Joseph Verdult

There is a distinct difference between the value listed on a Certificate of Authenticity and Insurance Appraisal (COA) provided by the artist/company for the artwork created by William Joseph Verdult; and the artwork’s fair “market value”. The COA bearing the artist’s original signature contains the artist/company’s estimate of value and serves a dual purpose. The COA from the artist/company serves as proof that you have an authentic work and gives a guide for the replacement value. The COA basically says this work is authentic and if something happens to it and the work is required to be replaced, then according to the artist/company, the value on the COA is what it would cost to replace the artwork. This is a more subjective value.

The fair “market value” of a painting by William Verdult is determined by either a direct cash sale or by a third party independent appraiser sanctioned by the appropriate regulatory agencies and an expert in the field of appraising William Verdult artwork.

The COA is provided to an independent third party certified appraiser when that entity or person is officially appraising the work. The independent appraiser considers the COA when appraising the work as well as other factors, such as past sales of the artist’s work, similar sales of similar artists’ work. Other factors are considered as well. The appraiser then comes up with the “market value” of the work.

We have extensive records on the cash sales of William Verdult artwork. Over the past three years we have conducted over 2,400 plus auctions of William Verdult artwork, including original paintings and lithographs and have sold a number of Verdult pieces. Cash sales for artwork created by William Verdult range from $2,500.00 to $29,000.00. These values can be found on art price reporting sites such as Artnet.com.

We have found that provided that the work has been appraised by an appraiser who is an expert in his field and an expert in Verdult artwork, the market value established normally withstands any sort of challenge in litigation, by the IRS, or insurance companies.

The value stated on the COA – especially for Verdult artwork is normally higher than the value that will be ultimately placed on the work by an independent third party appraiser.

For example, if the COA from the artist/company states $250,000, we have found that normally the market value placed by an independent third party appraiser is considerably less than the value on the artist’s/company’s COA.

At present we have commissioned several formal appraisals of Verdult artwork from an independent Government sanctioned expert in Verdult work; appraisal values range from $27,000 up to $100,000.

The artwork that you describe would probably have a fair market value of between $24,000 and $45,000.  To get a letter of Estimate and Determinant Value, click here.