Blog

ES sends me a Sepik River mask – very large – from Papua New Guinea. This mask is causing trouble in her marriage, she writes me. Her partner jumped on …

T.M. has two etchings on paper mounted on a sheet. The bottom of one reads “The Schoolmaster Nr. 190 — 1641 — B.128” and the other reads “Cornelis Claesz Anslo …

M.P. phoned the Appraisers Association of America in New York City, of which I am a member. She asked for advice on a piece and they directed her to call …

You’re an artist. What will become of your work? As you reach maturity, where will your work be housed so that it can be seen? What does “legacy” entail? I …

It’s 1956 and your mom and dad are shopping for furniture. They’ve recently been to New York to see the 1954 exhibition “Design in Scandinavia,” curated by Canadian designer John …

My evaluation of a Japanese mourning kimono inspired S.L. in Santa Maria to sends me this gorgeous Chinese Mandarin robe. Look at the back of the robe and you will see …

I often present Antique Road Show style events throughout the country. Last year I spent such an afternoon at my son’s business in Durham, NC. A young man brought in …

C.G. from Lompoc sends me a plea – he has a Gorham sterling silver tea service circa 1922, which he had appraised in 1980 for $6,500, at the top of …

AB’s Uncle served in Vietnam, and brought this sculpture back in the 1970’s. AB wants to know if it’s jade, and what the figures represent. Because jade is HOT and …

C.L. has an oil on canvas by Carl Sammons at 12” x 16”, which unmistakably pictures our Santa Barbara shoreline. Sammons was a prolific California Plein Air artist who began …