Money talks: Certified photography appraiser and photo historian Jennifer L. Stoots will share an illustrated presentation that takes a look at the history of the Western art market, the fine art photography market, and where we are today. The event will be Thursday, March 15 at 7:00 at Disjecta — 8371 N. Interstate in Portland.
According to Photolucida, this will be the first in a quarterly event series:
“Except for, perhaps, the Paleolithic paintings of the Kondoa, Sulawesi and Lascaux caves, art has always been a commodity. Photography, in particular, was a pursuit of entrepreneurial inventors and businessmen long before the process of fixing an image had even been resolved. Once the Daguerreotype entered the public realm, a new industry was born and with it an array of possibilities relating to science, business, politics, advertising and art.
Why is this important? At a fundamental level, the basics of the art business are no different than any other time in history; the tools, mediums and tastes have changed, but the art market has patterns as well as cycles. The art world can be deliberately cloistered and the market mystifying for many. The aim of this lecture will be to demystify and illuminate based on Stoots’s experience working at galleries, art fairs and as an art & photography appraiser. Many of the issues and topics addressed are relevant to many fine art photographers and artists who work in the medium today.
This presentation will briefly review:
- The evolution of the Western art market.
- The motivations of invention and the birth of the photo industry.
- The “modern medium” and its acceptance as an art form.
- Snowballing of the photography market in the 1970s and 1980s, when there was a flourish of photography galleries in the US and major auction houses dedicated departments exclusively to photo.
- Top selling photographers and photographs—auction records and what’s interesting about the markets where those top tier prices were achieved.
- The current landscape of the fine art photography market, including a discussion of art fairs and online platforms.”
Jennifer L. Stoots, AAA, is a certified photography appraiser, accredited by the Appraisers Association of America. She has been professionally involved in the arts for 24 years, has managed and worked with galleries for 20 years, and has been appraising contemporary art, photographs and photographic archives for 16 years. She is also a photography historian, writer, art market consultant, and organizes workshops and presentations centered around legacy and estate planning for artists and photographers.
Stoots earned her Bachelor’s in Art History from the University of Oregon (1994), her Master’s in the History of Art & Design from Pratt Institute (2013), and her appraising credentials from NYU’s Appraisal Studies Program for Fine and Decorative Arts (2002).
Website: http://www.stootsllc.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stoots.jennifer/