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Learn more about Elizabeth’s books

Stewart’s guide to collecting is entertaining and informative, making it ideal for anyone who wants to understand the objects that surround them.

No Thanks Mom offers safe advice on what to do with those objects that were lovingly saved, but are not welcomed by the next generation

How to insure and inventory valuables.

 

A SEASONED APPRAISER WHO WELCOMES A CHALLENGE

I am thrilled to offer you and your art and antiques my 30 years of appraisal expertise. I am proud to say I have never met a work of art or a piece of furniture that I could not research and evaluate for my wonderful clients.

I am diligent, I am thorough, I am knowledgeable, and even if I didn’t make a living as an appraiser, I would STILL be an appraiser. After my first visit to your home I will present you with my ideas on the type of appraisal you need and the cost of the job.

ALL TYPES OF APPRAISAL SERVICES OFFERED

Clients ask me about insurance appraisals, especially after the recurrent fires and other natural disasters, or they ask about dividing up their possessions fairly between family members. I often work with a family’s attorney or accountant in designing a trust. Some clients just want to know what they have or what they inherited. I provide advice on selling artifacts or downsizing, and consult on the best places to sell items for the most cash. I am qualified with the IRS to write charitable contribution appraisals, if a family wants to donate a work to a museum for the tax credit. I am not afraid of any household, whether large or small, clean or cluttered, French style, Spanish Colonial, Ole’ West, Asian, or Contemporary style. I am as experienced with art as I am with furniture and collectibles. I have (almost) seen it all in my 30 years of appraising on both coasts.

A NATURAL-BORN SLEUTH

I think you will see that I love what I do; clients tell me I have a great nose for finding their hidden treasures, and presenting reports in an affordable and clear manner. I look forward to helping YOU!

Elizabeth Stewart, PhD. Appraisers Association of America, Certified Member

Services

Elizabeth specializes in “Material Culture” of the past: works of fine art, period furniture, porcelain, glass, silver, rugs, books and toys. She writes appraisals for many purposes, including Replacement Cost, Fair Market Value, Charitable Contribution, and Equitable Distribution for Multiple Heirs. A specialized area of appraisal, she relishes “Creative Class” appraising for artists, writers, inventors and their unique objects, architects, sculptors, and photographers. Elizabeth also specializes in Damage Claim appraisals, due to her region’s frequent fires. To gauge salability, Elizabeth consults and writes hypothetical value appraisals, advising on liquidation with an eye to the highest value. A favorite aspect of Elizabeth’s job are her numerous speaking engagements, in which she imparts her vast knowledge of historical objects as value symbols to communities around the country.

Read her weekly column & listen to her weekly radio show

Blog

Vintage Hatbox Collection

Let me tell you the story of Mom’s Doree hatbox. In 1973 my father’s bad taste led him to buy my mother a makeover session at Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door …

Radio Show

Where Mountains Meet the Sea

Executive Director Greg Gorga and artist Rick Delanty talk about the Where Mountains Meet the Sea: Coastal Canvas Comes to Life exhibit at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum through March …

Blog

2026: Year of the Western Belt

RM owns a six-hundred piece, fifty-years-in-the-making cowboy clothing collection with vintage leather jackets and tooled western belts. She’s seventy now, so it’s time to sell these objects. She’s in luck! …