APIx, a New Art Stability Rating System, to Lower Risk on Blue- Chip Art

[RESOURCES]

APIx, a New Art Stability Rating System, to Lower Risk on Blue-Chip Art

Los Angeles, CA—A provisional patent application for the Art Preservation Index or APIx was filed in July to standardize the measurement of stability risks of blue-chip paintings and other types of artwork that may deteriorate over time. The APIx is a rating system similar to investment ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s for the financial industry, but with the goal to quantify stability-related investment risks for fine art. APIx scores are generated by scientific and historical research that is completed by a staff of professionals who base their artwork analyses on multi-layer assessments of the materials, their application, and the way they interact chemically and physically to determine their sustainability.

“Art conservators know that a great deal of art being sold today may deteriorate quickly and cause the monetary value to decline – precipitously in some cases,” said Emily MacDonald- Korth, an art conservator and one of the inventors of the rating system. Emily goes on to say, “A prime example was the stunning deterioration of the Rothko paintings donated to Harvard University that irreparably faded after exposure to harmful light over the years. Experts know the materials Rothko commonly used to paint his remarkable color studies are unstable. Yet a Rothko painting, almost certainly painted using similar light-sensitive colorants, was recently sold at auction for over $56 million. This new buyer, for example, would have been alerted to the vulnerability to fading if APIx had been consulted prior to purchasing the investment.

The Rothko case is just one of thousands. Art is created with many materials that are visually appealing and seem innocuous, but most artists, gallery owners, and buyers of art know very little about the stability of these materials or how they interact with one another over time.”

The APIx rating system will illuminate these facts for the entire art world and the founders expect that many buyers of fine art will engage it. Leading Miami gallerist Robert Fontaine is the first art dealer to request APIx provisional ratings for his inventory, including works by Rauschenberg and Komar & Melamid. According to Fontaine, “The Art Preservation Index truly fills a void in an otherwise unregulated market. If you believe that each artwork has a life of its own, then the attention given to each piece should be paramount in discovering its history and condition, while working to preserve its future integrity for many years to come.”

“Fine art is extremely expensive. Buyers of art, like buyers of investments, should seriously consider getting an APIx rating before making a purchase. Obtaining a rating will be a modest additional cost to the acquisition of fine art and it could prevent a financial disaster like the Rothko situation,” said James Korth, co-inventor, father to Emily, and an investment banker.

The APIx inventors expect that art buyers, conservators, and insurers everywhere will be excited about the APIx as it will make investing in art a safer process while creating a higher profile and more work for preservation experts and a safer bet for those who insure it. Each Stability Rating Report will include details about the artwork, the Stability Rating, and rating rationale; additional features such as high-resolution photodocumentation, scientific analysis, and preservation recommendations will be available.

The APIx Inventors:

Emily MacDonald-Korth is an art preservation specialist working in art conservation, research, and consulting; she has published, lectured, and taught internationally and worked on conservation projects across the United States, in China, and in Italy. In 2013, MacDonald-Korth founded the conservation practice Longevity Art Preservation, LLC; formerly she was practicing as Associate Project Specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute. MacDonald-Korth is a graduate of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation where she earned the highest degree, a Master of Science in Art Conservation, with a specialty in the conservation of paintings. More information can be found at: www.ArtLongevity.com

James W. Korth started J W Korth & Company in 1982. Throughout the 80s and 90s Korth focused on investment banking, underwriting debt of major corporations for retail issue, and pioneered many of the corporate debt programs that are found today. As the internet took hold in the early 2000s, Korth launched the Shop4Bonds website in 2003. J W Korth & Company brings institutional investing expertise to individual investors, registered investment advisors and small institutions. The company has offices in Miami, Orlando, and Lansing, Michigan, and clients located across the country and around the world. More information can be found at: www.jwkorth.com