What do Dealers do?

[This information comes from the ADAA website with their permission. You may read the entire unedited information on their website by clicking here.]

What do dealers do?

CINOA affiliated dealers offer a range of services:

Education

Dealers enjoy sharing their knowledge and experience. In addition to educating prospective and established clients at their own galleries, many dealers accompany collectors to artists’ studios, museums, art fairs, auctions and other galleries in order to encourage a well-informed approach to acquisitions. Dealers advise their clients about lending and donating art, insurance, framing, conservation, cataloguing and other subjects of mutual interest.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions are central to the dealer’s educational mission. Most artists had their first shows at galleries. Dealers use exhibitions to introduce new work to the public and to support the developmental progress of more established artists. Many CINOA affiliated dealers mount exhibitions that rival museum presentations, incorporating major loans and displaying the work in an in-depth art-historical context. Browsing gallery exhibitions is one of the most effective ways for collectors to learn about art, and all public galleries welcome walk-in visitors during normal business hours.

Publications

Many CINOA affiliated dealers regularly publish exhibition catalogues, monographs and catalogues raisonnés, promoting scholarly research and critical understanding in areas rarely covered by commercial publications.

Curatorial

CINOA affiliated dealers encourage and collaborate in the formation of collections, assisting their clients in developing an overall strategy and focus. Museums and non-profit spaces commonly request curatorial advice from dealers and ask for help in locating works the institutions wish to borrow for exhibition. adaa dealers have curated numerous exhibitions for museums, large and small, all over the world. Collectors who understand the custodial relationships inherent in caring for and lending their art to important exhibitions will often be treated more favorably by the dealer and the artist.

Appraisals

Collectors require appraisals for a wide variety of purposes: insurance, legal matters, tax issues and estate planning. CINOA affiliated dealers are sensitive to the nuances that distinguish these different types of appraisals, and their years of experience make them particularly adept at interpreting comparable sales, both private and public.

Sales and Resales

Buying a work of art from a CINOA affiliated dealer is the beginning of a long-term relationship. Art dealers not only help collectors buy, but can also help clients sell works when the time comes to change the direction of a collection. It is always worth consulting the dealer who originally sold you a work before reoffering it, since dealers frequently keep track of requests for specific works on behalf of clients. Dealers appreciate clients who turn to them when re-selling, and are more likely to offer these collectors important works in the future.