If you sent us a request between 28 July and 5 August, it did not reach us. A fault on our form stopped some messages from coming through. Please call (301) 820-7664 or fill the form again. We're sorry for the inconvenience.
Artwork appraisals in California for donations, estate tax, insurance, and divorce, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises paintings, sculptures, prints, photography, and mixed media across California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
…even during the holiday season… I was genuinely impressed
…I am looking forward to utilizing AppraiseItNow for many years to come
…they did a superb job and clearly explained how they arrived at the appraisal value
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT ARTWORK APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, CALIFORNIA COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
.jpeg)
Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsAppraiseItNow appraises artwork in California: gifts to museums and other charities, estate and trust filings, insurance schedules, and collections split between spouses or heirs. Los Angeles and the Bay Area sell different work to different buyers, and a report states which of those markets its comparable sales were drawn from.
Editioned work
Prints, photographs and multiples move on the size of the run, the state of the sheet, the publisher and whether the artist signed it. Two impressions of one image can sit far apart on those grounds.
Sculpture and objects
A cast is read for its foundry, its surface and where it falls in the sequence. Objects often sell through different rooms than the paintings beside them, and California jewelry through different rooms again.
Three completed California files, a line each: the city, the reason a value was needed and the standard it was written to. The photographs show the kind of work involved and are not anyone’s own piece.
Charitable donation
Cast figures and a devotional painting, valued at fair market value to support the donor’s deduction, with each piece treated as its own lot.
Charitable donation
Hand finished photographic prints and early printed volumes of religious and historical interest, valued individually at fair market value for the gift.
Insurance coverage
Prints and painted works by established contemporary artists, valued at replacement cost so each one could be listed separately on the policy.
The standard of value follows the purpose, and the effective date follows the event. Naming both at the top of a report is what lets a reviewer test every sale cited underneath it.
Fair market value
Gifts, estates and divided property all run on it. The date is fixed by the event rather than by when the report is written, and the sales cited are chosen from around that date.
Replacement value
Insurance schedules are written at retail, and the figure is usually the highest one a collection will see. If nothing comparable is currently offered, the report sets out what sourcing a piece would take.
Two California rules reach art directly. One puts a written record behind every multiple sold above a modest price. The other reaches work that is held for business rather than hung at home.
Fine art multiples
$100 or more
is the price at which a California fine art multiple carries a written certificate describing it
Civil Code section 1741 applies the fine print title to any fine art multiple offered for sale or sold at wholesale or retail for one hundred dollars or more, exclusive of any frame. Section 1744 then lists what the certificate supplied with it has to state: the name of the artist, whether the multiple was signed by the artist and, if not, how the artist’s name came to be on it, the medium or process, whether the image is a photomechanical reproduction of work made for another purpose, whether the artist was dead when the master was made, whether the multiple is posthumous, the total number of multiples including proofs produced from that master, and the year of production. For an appraiser that certificate is evidence, and its absence on a work that should carry one is itself worth noting.
Lien date
January 1
is the day California values art held for business use, every single year
Revenue and Taxation Code section 106 defines personal property as all property except real estate, and the market value definition in section 110 applies to it. Unlike real property, personal property is assessed at market value every year and is not governed by the value limitations in article XIII A of the California Constitution, so there is no base year value and the appraisal date is always the lien date, January 1. The state’s assessment guidance adds that personal property is assessed on how it is situated or used on that date rather than at the owner’s book cost. Art hanging in a private house is a different matter from art held as gallery stock, as a corporate collection or as business decor, and the second group is the one that answers annually.
What clients say we are known for
Across 100+ published AppraiseItNow reviews the picture is consistent: every one is from a client who paid us for an appraisal, and the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how much research is visible in the report.
AppraiseItNow did an excellent job appraising our unique art collection. Joe was always prompt and responsive, and he and his team delivered a thorough, well-supported appraisal in just a couple of weeks, even during the holiday season. I was genuinely impressed. Thank you for the great work!
Artwork Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
The appraisal was done very well. Since he was a local artist here in Charleston, SC, they took the time to study and review Jim Booth’s art. His work has made him extremely famous, which can make an appraisal challenging, but they did a superb job and clearly explained how they arrived at the appraisal value. I highly recommend Appraise It Now and will use them again for all my artwork.
Artwork Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
AppraiseItNow was amazing! My father passed with a large volume of artwork & I had no idea what it was worth. Their team was incredibly helpful and quick to respond with text and/or email to any questions as well as a status update along the way. Highly recommend!
Artwork Appraisal for Probate
I recently requested a retroactive appraisal for fine art from AppraiseItNow. I received excellent service from intake to delivery. The appraisal was delivered on time and the content of the appraisal absolutely met my expectations!
Artwork Appraisal
From the start they were very responsive, price competitive, and had a quick turn around time. Thank you so much to Joe who was very sweet in responding to my emails; I am looking forward to utilizing AppraiseItNow for many years to come.
Very thorough and professional — great communication and outstanding service. Highly impressed with their work!
Given the USPAP-compliant nature of AppraiseItNow’s appraisal reports, we prepare our deliverables for major legal, tax, and financial reporting purposes for individual and commercial clients.
Popular uses of our appraisal reports include:
Usually the court-appointed probate referee. California practice assigns valuation of non-cash assets, including tangible personal property like art, to probate referees, while the personal representative values cash items; the combined Inventory and Appraisal is due within four months after letters issue. Independent appraisals still matter for federal estate tax support and high-value works.
When claimed values reach $50,000 or more on income, estate, or gift tax returns; those items may be referred to the Panel for review. Donations of art over $5,000 already require a qualified appraisal with Form 8283.
Recent arm's-length auction and private sales for the same artist and market level, sourced from databases such as Artnet, Artprice, and AskART, then adjusted for condition, size, medium, and timing. The IRS expects those specific transactions identified in the report.
Yes. Probate Code 8904 lets the personal representative elect an independent expert qualified to appraise a unique, artistic, unusual, or special item of tangible personal property, so significant works can be carved out of the referee’s assignment. Estate inventories then commonly show ordinary household goods valued by the referee and important pieces supported by a separate expert schedule. Section 8905 requires whoever appraises to sign and swear an oath of honest, impartial valuation.
Yes. Probate Code 8906 provides for objections to an appraisal filed with the inventory, and probate referees must retain their backup data and make their appraisal reports available. An interested party can put auction comparables in front of the court and ask for review or for an independent expert to be appointed, which is why methodology and documented sales matter more than the headline figure.