Valuing art and objects

A stated value does two jobs at once, and museums tend to think about only one of them. It discharges a disclosure obligation, because a bidder at a qualifying charity may deduct only what they pay above fair market value. And it sets the reference point bidders anchor to, which decides whether an item attracts a first bid at all.

Where the value comes from

• Retail comparables for editions, prints and multiples — what the gallery sells it for
• The artist's current price for donated original work, which the artist can supply and the museum should sanity-check rather than simply adopt
• A recent appraisal where one exists and is current
• Cost of the equivalent for services and experiences — what a comparable private tour or session would cost

Where you genuinely cannot establish a value — an object of uncertain attribution, a piece with no market — say so plainly rather than inventing a number. "Value not established; sold as seen" is a legitimate position and a museum is the organization best placed to say it credibly.

The mistake that costs money in both directions

An inflated stated value is not a stronger listing. It is wrong on the disclosure, and it suppresses the first bid — a starting price anchored to a value nobody believes produces an item with no bids rather than a high one.

The opposite error is quieter and just as costly: adopting a donor's or an artist's figure without checking. Museums are held to a higher standard on valuation than any other organization running a fundraiser, precisely because they are assumed to know.

Describing provenance

Say what you know and how you know it. Never describe something as authenticated without authentication you can point to. If the history is a story a donor told you, attribute it as that — "acquired by the donor's family in the 1960s, according to the donor" is honest, interesting and defensible.

An item a bidder later finds to be less than described damages a museum differently from how it damages a booster club, because the museum's whole authority is that it describes objects accurately.

Starting bids

Well below the stated value for anything with a checkable price. For access items and experiences with no comparison, start low and let bidders find the level — those are exactly the items where competition, not anchoring, sets the result.

General information, not collections or legal advice for your museum. Accession policy, professional standards and any conditions attached to a gift govern — check your own policy and your registrar before acting on anything here.