‘Oh, I forgot I had a Picasso’

Art collectors are often only interested acquiring their next masterpiece, not logging documentation and implementing collections care regimes. But Sarah Talbot Capes, director of Talbot Capes Fine Art Management, and her team find the work exciting – and here she explains why.

Collections management tends to involve a lot of the ‘boring stuff’ that nobody wants to think about and that is why it often falls by the wayside. But for most collectors, lack of time is generally the problem.

Nobody who has been collecting for several years, if not decades, wants to think about starting an inventory for everything they’ve purchased, nor are new collectors necessarily aware this is something they should be doing from the get-go.

I usually get approached by clients considering collection management when something’s gone wrong, gone missing or has been damaged.

Sometimes a will needs to be written, and the client realises their art collection needs to be organised and valued. Other times, there are questions over how to navigate gifting in lieu of tax, succession planning and inheritance tax.

Some clients with particularly large, dynamic collections have simply lost track of what’s where, with no way to efficiently determine which works are out on loan, in storage or in one of several overseas residences.

Surprisingly often, they have no memory of buying art, especially when it’s been stored away for years, or perhaps they have inherited many things all at once and put everything in storage until they find time to think about it.

House moves, divorce, death or buying an artwork before realising they've already got something similar can also nudge people to commission collections management. They want peace of mind that there is somebody with a comprehensive understanding and overview of the entire collection. This is true not just for fine art but for furniture, decorative objects, books, and all manner of collectibles, even rare whiskies and Hermès handbags.

Several clients have collections spread across the world in numerous properties, on yachts, in corporate buildings or on loan – and these private collections can be much larger than those of many public institutions in the UK.

Solving Picasso-related near disasters

Several of our clients have a Picasso or two in their collection, or indeed art on a par, and we've managed to solve a few Picasso-related near disasters. A few years ago, one collector moved thousands of pieces of art and furniture from properties overseas to the UK for storage – a mixture of property he had purchased and inherited. He did it quickly with no database to work from, no inventory and no tracking before shipping the items from A to B.

The Fine Art shippers and storage facility management teams had no system that indicated what was inside each crate or box, so my team had to work ‘backwards’, unpacking, photographing and listing everything in a storage unit the size of a football pitch.

It took about six months rifling through boxes, opening packages with pictures, paintings, drawings, all sorts. The client only had some old purchase invoices and an outdated insurance valuation, so the collection was hugely undervalued.

I noticed within the historic valuation that there was an important Picasso on paper listed, that the owner had simply ‘forgotten’ about. At first, he was delighted to remember this valuable work of art but then became stressed because we hadn’t found it during our excavation of the storage unit.

Eventually, we discovered another batch of items had been crated up but never made it to the UK: among them was the Picasso. To say that was a relief is an understatement, and yet, alarmingly, this is a surprisingly common scenario.

Another ‘Picasso moment’ occurred when I noticed something strange about a £40m Picasso painting hanging in the drawing room of a London property. We had a lot of documentation – images, catalogue raisonné entry and a certificate of authenticity – but in the bottom right-hand corner there was a tiny paint splodge that did not show in any of the historic images.

When I put on my Optivisors (precision magnifying glass), I realised straight away that this was not paint. A quick swab with saliva and the mark came off quickly and was soluble. It seemed like a condiment, perhaps ketchup, had been splattered on the Picasso.

I mentioned this to my client and expected raised voices, but he said, ‘Oh, that was probably the kids when they were having their chicken nuggets party’.

He had a good sense of humour but, if the ketchup had been left for a long time, the acidity could have permanently damaged the painting.

How to look after your art collection

If you are starting out with an art collection, engaging someone at the beginning of the journey makes life a lot easier. The collection manager can grow with the collection and ensure that every time the client buys something new it is added to a database to create an excellent asset list.

We catalogue a collection by photographing and measuring each piece, condition checking and cross-referencing provenance as well as listing exhibition history, literature, purchase information and current value so it is all on one database.

We'll then keep on top of it and make sure everything’s updated if something goes on loan, if a piece is sold or if the value increases. For instance, when there’s a big sale and the value of an artist’s work goes up rapidly, we'll revalue that and add it to the system so that it's constantly updated.

Cataloguing and creating an inventory which is a digital database is what most insurance companies now want. It's also an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) preferred requirement for anybody that’s applicable for conditional exemption when compiling their Heritage Management plans.

Do remember that the premium for insuring fine art is relatively low compared to jewellery.

About Sarah

Sarah received her undergraduate degree in History of Art from the University of St Andrews, which she then followed with a Masters from The Courtauld. She worked in museums, galleries, conservation studios and within a family office as Director of Collections before founding Talbot Capes Fine Art Management. She and her team now look after private and corporate collections around the world and consult to public institutions.

Insuring your art collection

If you have a fine art collection you should check it has the correct insurance cover. Our recommendation is that any art in any form is insured under the “Art and Antiques” section of your policy. Ensure there is a good description of each item, with size and images.

We also recommend that you get an up-to-date valuation – a key part of any insurance policy. Make sure the valuation is for insurance purposes and that documentation is kept in a safe, secure, but memorable place in the event of a claim. We have a panel of recommended valuation companies that can assist by not only valuing your pieces now, but by also giving you up-to-date valuations going forward. Some of the insurers we work with will give a 25 per cent or even 50 per cent uplift for three years following a valuation to protect policyholders from rising prices.

You can expect a specialist fine art insurance to provide the following enhanced cover:

• New acquisitions cover – covering you for up to 60 days after purchase in case you forget to tell your insurer.
• Restoration cover – following a claim for partial damage, insurers will pay to restore the item plus its loss in market value given the restoration.
• Defective title – if it transpires that a piece of artwork is not rightfully yours, insurers may pay you the value of the item, as well your defence legal fees.
• Death of the artist – if you’ve had an item valued, the artist dies and then you have to claim, insurers will pay an additional percentage of value, recognising that it’s now worth more.

Howden has many years’ experience in providing specialist antique and art insurance, for both large and small collections. To talk to us about your art collection call 020 8256 4901 or email privateclients@howdeninsurance.co.uk