Art Resource Group

What Art Resource Group does

Art Resource Group is a privately held art advisory and appraisal firm founded in 1987 by Miriam Smith and headquartered in Irvine, California, with additional offices in Newport Beach (1,400 sq ft gallery and reference library) and New York City (by appointment). The firm curates private, corporate, and commercial art collections and provides certified fine art appraisals meeting Appraisers Association of America standards for estate management, insurance, IRS donations, collateralized lending, and authentication. Its core services span art appraisal, personalized acquisition advisory, collection management (conservation, framing, shipping, cataloguing, installation), and national/international auction brokering on behalf of collectors.

The company's core technology and platform is largely human-capital and inventory-driven rather than software-driven: an on-site visual selling library of more than 250 original works by significant 20th century American artists — particularly post-War New York Abstract Expressionists and California modernists — combined with deep reference resources and long-standing gallery, auction house, and dealer relationships. The firm operates as a dignified sales-led consultancy, pricing individual artworks on the website (listed works ranging roughly $4,800 to $18,000) while appraisal and advisory services are quote-based with multi-year advisory contracts.

Revenue derives from three streams: commissions on art sales and brokering transactions, professional service fees for certified appraisals, and ongoing advisory and collection management retainers. Customers are predominantly high-net-worth private collectors, with secondary exposure to corporate collections, municipal public-art projects, and estate/financial clients (attorneys, accountants, wealth advisors). The four-person professional team (Founder Miriam Smith, Advisor James Lodge, and associates Melissa Tominac and Nora Desruisseaux) supports a small, relationship-driven client base, with the firm maintaining memberships in the Appraisers Association of America and ArtTable and earning press coverage in regional and national art publications.

Name

Art Resource Group

Legal name

Art Resource Group

Website

https://artresourcegroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Art Resource Group is a founder-led art advisory and appraisal firm founded in 1987, providing certified appraisals, acquisition advisory, collection management, and auction brokering to high-net-worth collectors, corporate clients, and estates across the US and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Advisory & Appraisal Services

NAICS

Art Dealers (459920)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Art, Collectibles & Specialized Asset Advisory (Valuation, Storage, Lending) (FSAAADAO)

Keywords

• Art appraisal services
• Fine art advisory
• Art collection management
• Art brokering
• Art authentication

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Sales and Brokering: The company curates and sells fine art from international galleries, auction houses, and private dealers, earning commissions on transactions.
2. Art Appraisal Services: Certified fine art appraisals for estate matters, insurance, collateralizing loans, IRS donations, and authentication.
3. Art Advisory and Collection Management: Ongoing advisory services including collection curation, conservation, photography, framing, shipping, cataloguing, and professional installation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Art Resource Group is a professional art advisory and appraisal firm that curates private, corporate, and commercial art collections by advising clients on acquisitions from international galleries, auction houses, and private dealers. It provides certified fine art appraisals, ongoing collection management (conservation, framing, shipping, cataloguing, installation), and national and international brokering services for buyers and sellers of fine art.

Product overview

Art Resource Group operates as a professional art advisory and appraisal service company offering a suite of interconnected services for art collectors. The core offerings include Art Appraisal Services (certified appraisals meeting Appraisers Association of America standards), Art Advisory Services (personalized guidance for art acquisition), and Art Collection Management (conservation, installation, cataloguing). Supporting these are Auction and Brokering Services for buying and selling at auction, Art Authentication Services for certifying artworks, and a Fine Art Gallery providing access to over 250 works by 20th century American artists. The company also curates periodic exhibitions such as the Michael West Exhibition and Andy Wing Exhibition, which showcase rediscovered American Modernists and help elevate artists who may have been overlooked by art history.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Art Appraisal Services

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Appraisers Association of AmericacoreOthersArt Resource Group and its principals are members of the Appraisers Association of America, the leading professional organization for personal property appraisers.
• ArtTablecoreOthersMiriam Smith and Nora Desruisseaux are members of ArtTable, a professional organization for women leaders in visual arts.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sotheby's: Global auction house and art advisory offering appraisal, brokerage, and private sales across all major categories. Directly comparable advisory/appraisal service line but operates at vastly greater scale and category breadth than Art Resource Group.
• Christie's: Major international auction house providing appraisals, private sales, and advisory services. Comparable as a provider of fine art appraisal and brokerage services, though it serves a global institutional and ultra-high-net-worth client base.
• Phillips Auctioneers: Global auction house with strong 20th century and contemporary art categories, plus advisory and appraisal services. Comparable business model overlap in brokering and advisory, though at significantly larger scale.
• Bonhams: International auction house offering appraisals and private sales across fine art categories. Overlaps with Art Resource Group in providing certified appraisals and brokering for collectors, with broader geographic and category reach.
• Heritage Auctions: Large U.S.-based auction house with appraisal, brokerage, and private advisory services in fine art. Comparable in providing certified appraisals and auction brokering to U.S. collectors.

Emerging players

• Artsy: Leading online art marketplace connecting collectors with galleries and auction houses, including advisory partnerships. Comparable as a channel for art acquisition and discovery, posing competitive pressure on traditional advisory models.
• Artnet: Online art market platform providing auction listings, price databases, and gallery networks. Comparable in serving art collectors and dealers with discovery and valuation data that competes with traditional advisory services.
• 1stDibs: Online marketplace for high-end art, antiques, and luxury goods. Comparable as a digital sales channel for fine art, particularly to private collectors that form Art Resource Group's primary client base.
• Masterworks: Platform that fractionalizes and sells shares in blue-chip artworks to a broader investor base. Partially comparable as an art acquisition and advisory channel, though focused on fractional ownership and a younger demographic.

Others

• Appraisers Association of America: Leading professional membership organization for personal property appraisers, of which Art Resource Group is a member. Comparable as an industry body governing appraisal standards and a referral source for certified appraisal services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Art-Resource-Group-100054479980302
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/art-resource-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Art Resource Group