Elizabeth Huff’s Blog

Currently I have an internship at the Adams Davidson Gallery in Washington DC working with the appraisal of fine art. I am working with the director of the gallery, Ted Cooper, who has so far taught me a lot about the appraisal process. The first thing I did was work with the templates for both fair market appraisals and replacement appraisals. We have also talked about condition but looking at paintings in the gallery under a UV light. Ted has given me my first major project now which is to create a fair market report for a portrait by the well known American artist, John Singer Sargent. The portrait is on Edward Burckhardt, a merchant who was living in Paris when the portrait was painted in 1880. He was Swiss, but was married to an American. Sargent is known to have painted a number of portraits of the Burckhardt family; this particular portrait is inscribed- To my friend Valerie, John Singer Sargent Paris, June 1880. Valerie is one of Edward Burckhardt’s daughters. The painting itself is in very good condition. It was probably done quickly though because the paint is very thin. Also a lot of the detail is blurry like his neck tie, ear, and beard. Below is a picture of the portrait: