Museum To Host Annual Appraisal Day With Skinner, Inc. Appraisers

The always-popular Appraisal Day is back at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum with three experts from Skinner, Inc. providing appraisals. Karen Keene, CEO, Stephen Fletcher, Executive Vice President and Director of American Furniture and Decorative Arts, and Judith Dowling, Director of Asian Works of Art will be in the Museum Library on Saturday, December 1^st to evaluate the public’s prized objects and collectibles. Skinner may consign items with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Museum.

This year, we encourage the public to bring any Chinese, Korean, Indian, and Japanese artwork and antiques they may have, including fine calligraphy, rare jade, furniture, decorative arts, and contemporary Chinese art to Appraisal Day as Asian Art specialist Judith Dowling will be on hand to evaluate such items.

Reservations are required for all appraisals. Museum members may begin making reservations on Monday, November 5^th. Non-member reservations can be made beginning Tuesday, November 13^th. Each individual is allowed to bring up to three items for appraisal. We encourage early reservations as this event usually does sell out.

As CEO of Skinner, Inc., Karen Keane oversees the operation of one of the world’s leading auction houses in the nation. She brings her lifelong passion for art, antiques, and the study of material culture to Skinner. Along with running the company, she is also one of the firm’s most versatile appraisers with a broad knowledge of furniture and fine and decorative arts. Her specialty areas include American furniture and decorative arts, Americana, and folk art. She is also a formidable presence at the auction podium, becoming the company’s first female auctioneer early in her career.

Stephen Fletcher, Executive Vice President and Director of the Americana department, is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost experts on early American furniture, American decorative arts, and American folk art. His expertise in American formal and country furniture and his work over the past thirty years as chief auctioneer and generalist appraiser for Skinner have earned him a reputation as a highly versatile art and antique generalist.

Judith Dowling joined Skinner in 2011 after more than twenty years as the owner and principal of the Judith Dowling Asian Art Gallery in Boston’s Beacon Hill. Judith is renowned as an expert in Asian art. She has served as a consultant and appraiser to institutions that include the Harvard Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Berkeley Museum of Art, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, and others. In addition, she has been called upon regularly to appraise major private collections of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art.

The annual Appraisal Day will take place on Saturday, December 1^st from 9am to 4pm. Appraisals are $15 for one item or $40 for three items. To make a reservation, call Jessica Barker at the Museum, 508-627-4441 x117 or e-mail jbarker@mvmuseum.org. Please be prepared to give a brief description of your item(s) when making reservations.