Based in Chicago and serving the greater Midwest, GB Fine Art prepares in-depth, customized appraisals for insurance, estate planning, charitable donation, and equitable distribution, so you can make informed decisions about the future of your personal property.
Independent of any auction house or dealer, we guide you through the art market, providing objective advice and assisting with buying and selling as well as collection management. We are a certified member of the Appraisers Association of America.
We have extensive experience with auction houses, museums, and galleries… in everything from appraising personal property and liquidating estates to cataloguing large collections, researching provenance, and authenticating artwork.
You may be in need of an appraisal if your last insurance appraisal was done more than 3-5 years ago. The art market is not constant and if it has been awhile since your last appraisal, you may not be adequately covered or you may be paying too much. We can help you make the right decision for your collection.
Are you overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in your estate and unsure of what is valuable? We can help prepare estate appraisals so you and your family can plan ahead or so you can make informed decisions about liquidating the estate.
If you are planning on donating artwork to a nonprofit institution that has a value of over $5,000, the IRS requires a qualified appraisal, which we can prepare for you.
We are happy to provide appraisals of fair market value for purposes of equitable distribution among family members or divorcees.
If you are unsure about an item you have, we are happy to discuss whether or not a formal appraisal makes sense for you. Send clear images and an object description to gretchen@gbfineart.com.
Each report is fully illustrated with catalogue descriptions of each item, including provenance, exhibition history, literature citations, authenticity verification, and condition. All of our appraisals adhere to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) as set forth by The Appraisal Foundation, and adhere to the code of ethics of the Appraisers Association of America.
She started GB Fine Art in 2012 to help clients make informed decisions about the future of their personal property. Gretchen learned the art of appraising at Sotheby’s New York as a Specialist in the American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture department. At Sotheby’s, she participated in bi-annual sales of up to $87 million, handling a few of the country’s finest collections including those of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz, the Art Institute of Chicago, Bank of America, and many others. During these years, she was not only mentored by some of the best minds in the field, from scholars to dealers to conservators, but also entrusted with the care of museum quality objects from artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, John Singer Sargent, and Edward Hopper.
Gretchen joined Leslie Hindman Auctioneers as a lead specialist in the Fine Arts department. Her knowledge of the art market expanded to include European Paintings, Impressionist & Modern Art, Post-War & Contemporary Art, and Fine Prints. While serving numerous private collectors, Gretchen also teamed with institutions such as the Bradley Family Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to consolidate works from their holdings from the Peg Bradley Collection and raise funds to benefit the Lynden Sculpture Garden.
She has also held roles at several notable museums, including the New-York Historical Society, the Dahesh Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, where she helped curate the exhibition Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape.
Gretchen is a Certified Member of the prestigious Appraisers Association of America. She holds an M.A. in Art History from Rutgers University, with a Certificate in Curatorial Studies, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Art History from St. Olaf College, with distinction in both majors.
