Art appraisers must undergo rigorous ethics testing in order to get certified.
1. Dishonest Appraisal
Since the business of appraising is based on trust and integrity, ethics is a standard that must be maintained, as art appraising is a field that could easily be exploited by conmen and fraudsters.
For Albany's St. Joseph's Chapel, they were fortunate to discover they had an original painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau titled Our Lady of the Angels. However, they unfortunately trusted the art appraiser they hired who gave them a considerably lower estimate of the painting's worth.
The Maine Antique Digest has covered this dramatic story about a dishonest art appraisal.
2. Online Auction: Art Fraud for the Masses
Art appraiser Marc Carrier provides an informative article in PDF form about dishonest appraisals and internet art fraud.
He writes: "Here's good advice: an authenticator, no matter how impressive his or her credentials, should never play the double role of seller."
