The Arts

How do art appraisers place value on artwork?

Art appraisers explain why people spend so much money on artwork, and how they determine its monetary value during a sale.

How do art appraisers place value on artwork?
Virginia Mayo / AP
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A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes — and for appraisers Richard-Raymond Alasko and Jake Fish.

Those very words and even the story surrounding a work are key tools used to determine its monetary value. In a way, appraisers are master storytellers compiling every bit of information on a piece, learning the story of its uniqueness to determine its value. 

Scripps News' Lauren Magarino talks with two art appraisers who explain how they place value on a piece of artwork.