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Welcome to the fourth edition of the victorian-paintings.com newsletter, I hope you find it informative and useful. We start with some news from the world of Victorian Art, followed by a feature on insuring valuable paintings. Our "How To" section offers some advice on choosing a suitable frame to complement a treasured artwork.
Don't forget, if you know someone else who likes Victorian
Art, please take a moment to forward this newsletter to him
or her.
Danny Wettreich
dw@victorian-paintings.com
News: World Record Purchase by Lord Lloyd-Webber for Victorian Art
The millionaire composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber is to loan the John William Waterhouse painting, which he has just bought for a record £6.6 million, to the Tate Britain for four months every year. Saint Cecilia fetched the highest price ever paid for a Victorian painting at auction when Lord Lloyd-Webber bought it at Christie's recently.
Waterhouse's Saint Cecilia is regarded as one of the greatest examples of the British artist's academic late Pre-Raphaelite style. It depicts an early Christian martyr sleeping in her garden with two angel musicians serenading her.
Lord Lloyd-Webber, who is Britain's biggest collector of Victorian art, said: "I have now got seven Waterhouses but this is by far the best.
"I had an awful feeling that it was going to go for this kind of money. We actually had a slightly higher figure, which I would have paid, but beyond which it would have been ridiculous to go."
Lord Lloyd-Webber first acquired his passion for Victorian art when he was a schoolboy. At that time the work of the Pre- Raphaelites and other 19th-century British artists was unfashionable. "When I was about 10 or 12 I loved architecture and particularly Victorian architecture," he said. "I started my art collection by buying a Rossetti drawing for £18 when I was about 15 years old. I fell in love with Victorian art and it became a cause celebre for me. The more people told me that I was wrong, the more I liked these pictures."
He said: "It is a passion, a totally consuming passion. I want to write a book about it but I have never got round to doing so because I keep on having to write musicals to pay for these pictures."
Source: The Daily Telegraph London, 6/16/2000
Feature: Insuring Your Paintings
The Insurance of Works of Art
Paintings can suffer physical loss or damage whether on the premises or in transit. Collectors can choose to bear these risks themselves, or to pass them on to an insurer.
Unlike general contents insurance where items can be repaired or replaced with relative ease, paintings are unique and therefore irreplaceable. Even where cosmetic repair is possible, damage to any work of art destroys its value. In an age where the value of paintings, whether inherited or purchased has soared, often disproportionately to the value of other assets, the need to obtain suitable insurance is frequently overlooked.
Asset Protection
The essential motivation for insuring paintings is 'asset protection'. Insurance allows an owner to protect any financial loss resulting from loss or damage to insured items. While collectors often purchase these items for personal reasons, the issue of value and long term appreciation has gradually become a most important consideration.
Seeking Advice
The collector when buying insurance has the option to approach an insurer directly, or to use an intermediary who can obtain terms on their behalf. The use of a specialist intermediary allows a collector to be informed of the many options available world-wide, and to receive advice on the claims performance of the chosen insurer. Amongst the benefits of using an intermediary are:
- Personal contact
- Personal contact.
- The accurate establishment of the collector's precise needs.
- Finding - or creating - a policy tailored to the collector's needs and individual circumstances.
- Obtaining the widest cover at the most competitive price.
- Ability to influence negotiations with underwriters through the intermediary, and with their support.
- Impartial advice.
A specialist Fine Art intermediary will also give unbiased advice on valuations, security and the type of product best suited to an individual collector's requirements. 'Agreed values', for example become critical to owners in the event of a claim, and all too often these, with hindsight, seem to be inadequate. It is essential when establishing the sums insured that specialist valuers are chosen. Values are 'Agreed' by creating an accurate list of the insured items and obtaining underwriters' agreement to the stated values. This removes any cause for dispute in the event of total loss, and gives a figure from which depreciation can be calculated in the event of partial damage, although this area is less precise and can often be a matter of professional opinion. The listing of individual items does not in itself agree values; the underwriters' specific agreement has to be obtained.
Depreciation is the loss of value caused to an item when it suffers damage, and is quite separate to the costs of repair and restoration. Depreciation is a payment made by underwriters to meet financial loss of owning a newly damaged item. If, for instance, the canvas of a painting is torn and expert opinion suggests that is resale value is thirty per cent lower as a result, underwriters will pay the assured thirty per cent of the agreed valued plus the costs of repair. The issue of depreciation will always demand professional advice.
Product Types
There are a number of products available that provide international coverage. They either stand alone as art insurance cover, or are included as part of a package insuring buildings and its general contents. Usually the type of product chosen depends on the stated values and the individual circumstances of the owner. Whatever cover chosen must include both accidental damage and depreciation.
Cost
The cost of fine art insurance is extremely competitive and is usually below that charged for general contents insurance. Paintings are not often attractive to the casual thief who is seeking items that provide quick and easy resale such as jewellery and electronic equipment. Most collectors take care of their property and usually employ higher than average levels of security.
Restricting Perils
It is both usual and prudent to insure paintings against "All Risks", providing comprehensive cover with few exclusions. If, due too unusual circumstances, owners are prepared to be uninsured for key perils, such as fire, water damage or theft they can be excluded. Unfortunately such restricting perils will not necessarily produce a saving, in proportion to the level of uninsured risk.
Excess/Deductible
An extremely effective way to reduce premiums is the introduction of a policy excess or deductible. This is an agreed sum for which the assured agrees to remain self-insured in the event of a claim. Depending upon the level and the number of items affected by the introduction of an excess/deductible the premium can reduce significantly.
Peace of mind
This is provided by suitable insurance in the event of a catastrophe. Whilst many collectors would risk being uninsured for minor damage, should there be a house fire or a serious flood, the loss to an owner will be substantial. Even in the most well maintained surroundings the possibility of such events can never be discounted.
How To: Choose a Frame
Often neglected, the selection of an appropriate frame to complement a painting can do wonders in enhancing the painting's intrinsic value. Choosing the correct frame for a painting is important, but at times can prove to be a difficult task. This month's feature asks the question "How does one decide what sort of frame is appropriate for a painting?"
Generally, placing your painting in a frame that was crafted during the same period as the art itself is a good idea. However, there are often other creative options that might be appropriate. You may find, while searching for a frame that there is a less than adequate selection, in which case it might be better not to frame the painting until something just right can be found.
Deciding upon whether or not a picture frame is suitable requires a good instinct in order to gauge how the art will look within it. Fitting a painting to the perfect frame will enhance the painting's aesthetic beauty, as well as its monetary value. What's more, the value of the frame can be considered in determining a price should you want to sell the painting.
Many framers make a business out of buying and collecting used and antique frames from a particular time period, restoring them if necessary, and reselling them. Finding one of these framers will take a little detective work but may prove to be well be worth your time. Ask your local framers if they know of anyone who specializes in period frames.
Site Updates
This month's featured painting is "A Fisherman's Tale" by Wells Smith.
Feeback: Your suggestions
Thank you to everyone that has contacted me over the last three months, please keep your feedback coming and let me know what else you would like to see on the site. Victorian-paintings.com is becoming more and more popular as the months go by, thanks mainly to you our visitors spreading the word amongst fellow lovers of Victorian Art.
Happy collecting,
Danny Wettreich
Victorian Art Collector
© Copyright 2000, Danny Wettreich. All rights reserved. If you
found this newsletter interesting or helpful please e-mail
it to a friend or associate and help spread the word about
Victorian Fine Art. Thank you.
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