To save or not to save? This is oftenthe question asked after a piece of artwork has been badlydamaged. The answer may not be clearly apparent to the owneror claims handler. A damaged item that may appear” hopeless” to theuntrained eye may actually be an excellent candidate forconservation. While other items that do not “look that bad” do notjustify conservation efforts.

Let's take a closer look for directionon when it is or isn't worth conserving an art object.

Is the damage to the artcovered damage?

The most common perils resulting in aninsured loss to art are from fire, smoke, water, flood as well ashandling and shipping damages. There are many non-insurable damagesituations such as, craquelleur, paint loss, UV damage, aciditydeterioration; other age related deterioration as well as inherentvice. Conservators, gravitate to their profession because of theirlove of the objects they work upon. They often want to conserve anyand all flaws they may find. It is critical for the claim handlerto verifying the damage identified in the conservator's conditionreport is from a covered peril. If the claim handler is unfamiliarwith art, then an art consultant should assist with thisdetermination.

What elements are consideredwhen analyzing an art loss?

Art comes in many forms, involving bothtwo and three dimensional objects made with innumerable methods andmaterials. Some are one of a kind unique creations, such as apainting, drawing or carving, while others are from an edition orseries consisting of multiples of identical items, such as a print(lithograph, etching, engraving, linocut etc.), or photograph.

When an art object becomes damaged,there are key factors that must be determined in order to decide ifthe object should be conserved or considered a total loss. Here isa list of considerations and a suggested method to make a properdecision.

1. The first question is can theobject be conserved? As the children's rhyme suggests, sometimesall the kings horses and all the king's men couldn't put HumptyDumpty back together again. This is unfortunately also true of somedamaged art and makes your decision easy, clearly total loss

2. Just because it is possible toconserve an object, it does not necessarily mean it should beconserved. Ask a qualified conservator for a condition report thatprojects the cost of conservation, excluding treatment of anypre-existing condition issues. Ask the conservator for theiropinion as to the likely success of their proposed treatment andalso ask that their condition report comments on the prelosscondition of the art as well as any prior conservation treatmentthe object has been subjected too.

3. What is the value of the art?Remember, conservators are experts in the treatment of damaged art,not appraising art. Knowing how to repair damaged art does not makea conservator an expert on value. If a conservator renders anopinion of value of art they are proposing to conserve,then it creates a conflict of interest. Rely on an artappraiser to determine the item's value immediately prior to theloss, reflective of any pre-existing damage or past conservationidentified in the conservator's condition report.

4. It is very important to securepre-treatment images at a minimum, as well as any pre-loss images,if available.

5. Will the suggested conservationresult in post conservation diminution of value? This is acritical element to the puzzle that often overlooked.

6. Diminution of value is thedifference in market value of the item, comparing it preloss valueto its post conservation value.

7. Conserved art objects may experiencewidely different acceptance in the art market based on a number offactors. Buyers of Old Master paintings, which are hundreds ofyears old, anticipate these painting will have had conservationduring their long life and are far more accepting of conservation.Items which have been previously conserved will not suffersignificant diminution from current conservation treatment. Theworks of a living artist, as well as prints on paper are severelypunished in the art market when they have condition issues or havebeen conserved.

Damage in the center of a painting hasmuch greater negative impact on value than conservation of theperiphery. Determining diminution requires an appraiser who is intune with the art market. They should examine the conserved art andjudge the level of success of the conservation and determine if anydiminution of value has occurred and if so, express the diminutionas a percentage of the objects preloss market value.

8. True diminution of value can only bedetermined by examining object post conservation. However, in orderto make the decision if conservation should proceed, we will needto project the diminution of value based on the conservator'sbelief as to their likely success, the object's past conservationhistory and our appraiser's opinion of the preloss market value andthe art market's likely response to the object postconservation.

9. If the combination of projectedconservation cost and the projected diminution of value are equalto the objects preloss market value, it make no economic toconserve the art. In fact, if the combination exceeds 80percent of the pre-loss market value, it is usually wise to“total loss” the object and sell the salvage instead of risking apotential conflict and dispute with the insured over the actualdiminution of value once the conservation is completed. If thepolicy involved is an agreed amount policy, then the process is thesame however you may need to weigh these factors against the agreedamount of insurance, and not the actual market value.

Whenever there is doubt about the valueof a particular item, bringing in an expert to assist is thedecision making process is the wisest, and safest, way to proceed.The danger of damaging a valuable piece of art, or settling a claimfor an amount far greater than a restoration fee; far outweighs thecost of a bringing a conservator into the process.