ABOUT ESCHER ASSOCIATES
Escher Associates has been providing appraisal services and valuation advice to private collectors, museums, corporations, insurance companies, and attorneys nationwide since 1984. The firm is well recognized and highly regarded for its opinion, reputation, expertise, independence, and high-quality appraisal reports.
EA is well positioned to offer guidance to build and maintain art collections of all kinds and sizes. Founder Nancy Escher, ASA, and appraiser Lexi Brown are joined by a dynamic team that includes a former gallerist, advisor, archivist, as well as a trained conservator, collectively offering comprehensive services. Escher is also experienced as an umpire in the appraisal process and in valuation disputes. Nancy was even deputized by the LAPD for an undercover extortion and art fraud sting— twice!
The firm has completed appraisals for many institutions throughout the country. We have served clients across the spectrum, from libraries and news sources to financial institutions and private foundations. EA works regularly with a variety of professionals in the art sector including curators, scholars, CPAs, attorneys, art consultants, auction houses, insurance companies, private dealers and galleries, artists, artists’s estates and foundations.
Escher Associates has produced appraisals for the estates of numerous authors, artists, photographers, and actors, including the Estates of Ansel Adams, Helen Lundeberg, Todd Webb, Maurice Bloch, Cary Grant, Dinah Shore, George Stevens, and Dalton Trumbo. Notable is Nancy’s appraisal of the Estate of Sam Francis, for which she developed an innovative appraisal methodology using the blockage discount.
Escher Associates appraisals comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and the Code of Ethics outlined by the American Society of Appraisers (ASA). We understand the importance of privacy and treat all appraisals with the utmost discretion.
Contact us to learn more.
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After an initial consultation, we will provide a project proposal.
A retainer, half of the total estimated fee is due before the inspection to initiate the appraisal process.
Typically, appraisal reports are completed within eight to ten weeks from the date of the property inspection. The final Appraisal Report is delivered upon receipt of the final balance due.
Consultations, review of documentation, and collection walk-throughs are charged at the hourly rate.
Documentation includes sales receipts, exhibition loan forms, publication history, conservation and treatment reports, and other historical documents.
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Paintings
Sculptures
Works on Paper
Prints
Murals
New Media Art
Public Art
Installation Art
Vintage + Modern Photography
Art Glass + Ceramics
Rare Books, Manuscripts + Archives
Artists, Architects + Literary Estates
Rare, Unique + Historic Properties
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Our Reports: Each report is carefully researched and exceeds the demands of insurance companies, government agencies, the courts, and the IRS.
Our Network: Over the years, our team has cultivated a vast pool of experts including curators, conservators, dealers, historians, auction specialists, private collectors and foundations, accessing privileged information to aid in provenance research, authentication, and market analysis.
Our Team: Along with founder Nancy Escher, Escher Associates is a dynamic team with a wide range of art world experience including conservation, curation, collections management and gallery ownership. Nancy has even been deputized and worked undercover for LAPD.
Credentialed Professionals: Appraisers are experts in their field, with extensive background, education, and experience. We take pride in providing meticulously researched appraisals with a level of connoisseurship to match your own.
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The scope and cost of an appraisal depend on several factors, including the types and quantity of properties, as well as the number of artists.
For the most accurate estimate, please provide detailed information about the purpose of your appraisal and description of the properties when inquiring via our website form or phone.
Thank you!
Richard Artschwager, Untitled (Quotation Marks), 1980, Formica on painted wood, each approx. 12 x 10 x 2-1/2 in.; Fred Eversley, Untitled (parabolic lenses), 1982 cast polyester resin, dimension vary, Collection SFO; Hiroshi Sugimoto, U.A. Rivoli, New York, 1978, gelatin silver print, 16-3/4 x 21-1/2 in.; Dan Flavin, Untitled, 1968, fluorescent tube lights, 72 in. tall; Alex Israel, Self-Portrait, 2013, acrylic on bondo on fiberglass, 71 x 55 x 3 in.; Damien Hirst, Anthoplura Toxin A, 2022, household gloss on canvas, 49 x 59 in.; Jonas Wood, Grey Shelf Still Life, 2016, oil and acrylic on canvas, 77 x 57 in.; Ed Ruscha, Made in California, 1971, lithograph, 20 x 28 inches; Deborah Salt, Music of the Spheres, 2018-2019, acrylic on canvas, dimension vary; John Baldessari, I will not make any more boring art, 1971, lithograph, 22-3/8 x 29-9/16 in.; Jean-Michel Basquiat, Self Portrait, 1983, oil, acrylic, oil stick, graphite, pen on paper collage on wood with metal attachments, left panel 79-5/8 x 29-3/4 x 5-1/2 in. right panel 96-3/4 x 34 x 2 in.; Sam Francis, Redeeming Agent, 1989, acrylic on handmade paper, 36 x 26-3/8 in.; Lee Friedlander, Nashville, 1963, gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in.; Jay DeFeo, Pend O’reille No. 1, 1980, acrylic and tape on masonite, 72 x 48 in.; Barbara Kruger, Untitled (You Look Good), 2013, digital print on vinyl, 108 x 108 in.; Saul Leiter, London, 1950s, chromogenic print, 20 x 16 in.; Rufino Tamayo, Conquest of Space, 1983 polychrome steel, Collection SFO; Ansel Adams, Grass and Pool, c. 1935, gelatin silver print, 7-1/8 x 9 in.