Gallery Associations

Daniel Grant had an interesting and not to flattering article in the Huffington Post about gallery associations.  He state that many offer little protection for the collector. Many of these associations were developed to promote the members, and not to protect buyers and collectors. The member pays dues, and guides and brochures are published to promote trade.  The article has some interesting quotes from some of the better known gallery and dealer associations.

As many appraisers know, there are more than a few appraisal organizations which are nothing more than diploma mills, where you pay dues and then become an appraiser.  Of course not all is negative with either gallery/dealer associations or appraiser associations. ASA, ISA and AAA all have excellent programs, educational requirements, continuing education programs and re-qualification requirements.  All have ethics committees which are active when necessary and follow governing by-laws.  The article also mentions the Art Dealers Association of America along with quotes from past AAA Ex Dir Victor Wiener.

The article is well worth reading in its entirety.

Grant writes in the Huffington Post

Finding out who is a reputable dealer or gallery is no easy task, as the Better Business Bureau will only know of complaints filed with the agency (an unlikely place for dissatisfied collectors to go) and local museum curators may never have had dealings with the gallery. Word-of-mouth references are not always at hand. Perhaps, a collector's only source of information about a gallery is the association to which it may belong.

There are dozens of these associations in the United States (some regional, others national), and the number is growing. Many differences exist between them, but they all share a common belief with regard to prospective collectors. "Membership in the Boston Art Dealers Association assures collectors that a gallery is stable, has a clear record of ethics and a history of good business practices," said Virginia Anderson, former director of Gallery NAGA, which is a member of the association. "Membership is a type of certification for a gallery."

The same is heard across the land. "The association assures a collector that the highest levels of business practices and ethical standards have been set for the members," said Christopher Addison, director of the Addison-Ripley Gallery in Washington, D.C. and a past president of the Washington Art Dealers Association. Noting that even though "nonmembers may be perfectly reputable," Sylvan Cole, the now-deceased president of the International Fine Print Dealers Association, said that "when a collector is interested in prints, he or she will know that this organization represents print dealers you can trust and who are the best in the field." Satenig St. Marie, one-time executive director of the Antique Dealers' Association of America, also stated that "if you are buying something valuable, of course collectors would want to know if a dealer is a member of this association, because that means they are of the highest integrity."

For most of these associations, accepted business practices and ethical standards are a matter of bylaws, voted on by members and published in the membership directory and other promotional material of the group. "Membership is composed of professional antiques dealers who are dedicated to integrity, honesty and ethical conduct in the antiques trade," reads the Statement of Purpose in the membership directory of the Antiques Dealers' Association of America. However, some associations have no formal means of handling a complaint about a member, while others may have an ethics committee that hasn't met in years. "We don't hear complaints about members very often," said Gilbert Edelson, administrative vice-president of the Art Dealers Association of America. "I can't remember the last one."

Click HERE to read the full HuffPo article.