ASA to Host Personal Property Webinar on Due Diligence in Connoisseurship

By Sharon Reed

Q&A with Susan Golashovsky, FASA, instructor of Upcoming Webinar: “Connoisseurs Have Information I Need (and What I Found Out By Asking)”

The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) is hosting an online webinar on Feb. 7, 2019, entitled: PP141-WEB – Connoisseurs Have Information I Need (and What I Found Out By Asking).  The webinar provides a variety of case studies showing interaction between subject matter experts, dealers, connoisseurs, and the appraiser. The program highlights information received from actual correspondence regarding assignments covering a variety of objects. Different valuation scenarios will be explored and discussed. Types of questions posed by appraiser and answers received from experts will be summarized. Questions will be taken at the end of the webinar. This course is suitable for levels of personal property appraisers, but especially beginner and intermediate decorative arts appraisers.

Susan Golashovsky, FASA, the course instructor, is a personal property appraiser with specialty designations in Antiques and Decorative Arts, Antique Furniture, General/Residential Contents and American Folk Art. She is an Accredited Senior Appraiser trained in theory and methodology by the American Society of Appraisers with over twenty-five years of experience. Her subject matter experience was gained through over twenty years as an antiques dealer and attendance at educational seminars such as Winterthur Museum’s course study program on Early American Material Culture. Susan is a past International President of the American Society of Appraisers.

For more information or to register for the webinar, click here.

Susan answered a few questions about this upcoming webinar:

ASA: Please tell us about your webinar: “Connoisseurs Have Information I Need (and What I Found Out by Asking).” 

Susan Golashovsky:  Every once in a while I come across items which are a bit different from the norm – an object that is unfamiliar or a rarity, or maybe it’s a situation that is unusual. In those instances, I need to seek advice or information.  I wanted to share my experiences, explain my thought process and show the benefits of asking for help.

ASA: What’s unique/exciting about this webinar? 

Susan Golashovsky:  I was at a conference and overheard a few appraisers speaking of shying away from assignments. I realized that a lot of sole practitioners (who may be qualified to accept an assignment) were afraid to tackle because of the difficulty.  I wanted a way to be able to tell them that an appraiser is not expected to know every nuance. These are stories about my assignments. I hope to communicate to everyone that all of us – no matter how long we have been appraising – need help. And how I personally went about getting that help across six different objects with six different sets of problems.

ASA: What is the chief benefit that an appraiser will have from watching this webinar?  

Susan Golashovsky: Hopefully, they will come away with a sense that they are not alone and begin to think of assignments, not as ‘Can I do this?’  but more along the lines of ‘Who can I reach out to in order to best fulfill my due diligence to this assignment?’

ASA: What types of professionals would be interested in the webinar? 

Susan Golashovsky: Although I feel everyone  might need reinforcement or perhaps a new way to look at old problems, I am most interested in sole practitioner candidates or freshly minted appraisers knowing what a seasoned appraiser does to make her life easier. And her report better.

ASA: Please tell us about your background.

Susan Golashovsky: I worked in real estate development and management and needed a diversion. I began to get interested in antiques when we purchased an 19th century farmhouse which needed to be furnished. What began as a sideline turned into three group shops and shows on the East Coast on weekends and during vacations (luckily my husband is an antiques lover). Sometimes, during some vacations I attended educational venues, like Winterthurs’  programs. My focus was Americana, but group shops are diverse and twenty-five years is a long time looking at a lot of different types of objects. Along the way I developed a love for research, almost as much as going to auctions and listening to the big dealers and collectors discussing the merits of a piece. Appraising was a natural next step.  I left the retail side after the middle market crashed along with the economy. I never stopped appraising. And I never stopped loving objects.

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