Fine art consulting services provide a number of services, consulting, and information regarding the selling, procurement, installation, and assessment of fine art items or collections for individual collectors, museums, or multi-national corporations. Specialists in fine art consulting may also collaborate with interior designers and architects to procure fine art for specific buildings or projects. The people in this area of expertise typically have an extensive background working with fine art galleries, corporations, private art collectors or museums. The main purpose of hiring a fine art consultant is to locate, assess, and purchase fine art that is collectible, aesthetically pleasing to its environment, and likely to increase in value over time. Typically, a fine art consultant works with or represents a number of exceptional, proven, and experienced individual artists.
Continual research and analysis of the ever-changing and sometimes volatile fine art market is a prerequisite for anyone in fine art consulting. Providing and arranging for authentication or appraisal of certain fine art by qualified experts or institutions is also an important part of serving as a fine art consultant. Proper assessment of the authentic value of specific artwork is necessary for insurance purposes and to determine the long-term value of a piece of artwork. Fine art consulting may also require an extensive knowledge of art history and art law as well as a far-reaching network of fine art galleries, collections, and museums around the world.
Typically, a fine art consultant works with or represents a number of individual artists who have either produced award-winning work or whose artwork is included in other corporate or private fine art collections. These artists may create work in a number of styles, including impressionist, expressionist, abstract, modern or realist. Some artists are well-established, while others may be mid-career or emerging artists. The artists represented by a fine art consulting firm typically offer a wide variety of subjects, styles, media, techniques, and prices for their fine art.
Whether for a global corporation, the lobby of a local office building, or a quaint restaurant, experts in fine art consulting assist their clients in finding just the right type of fine art for any space. Other services may include providing framing services, custom lighting, special transportation, and installation of fine art. Fine art consulting may also include assessing a space to determine the proper size and type of specific fine art as well determining location. A consulting service may provide fine art collection management that includes rotating specific artwork, updating fine art appraisals, or arranging for collection maintenance and repair.
