PRATT INSTITUTE APPRAISAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM Pratt Institute's Certificate Program in Fine and Decorative Art Appraisal is the only one of its kind in New York City to partner with American Society of Appraisers.
News-Antique.com - Aug 09,2007 - Pratt Institute offers a certificate program in Fine and Decorative Art Appraisal at the Pratt Center for Continuing and Professional Studies. Courses are held at the Manhattan Campus located at 144 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Pratt’s program is the only New York City-based appraisal studies program to offer classes in partnership with the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the leading accrediting society for professional appraisers. Pratt’s convenient location, at 144 West 14th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, allows students to combine their appraisal studies with a visit to New York's art and cultural institutions. The Pratt certificate program in Fine and Decorative Art Appraisal also fosters active networking in the field.
“Pratt Institute has built a reputation for excellence in art and design education. Our partnership with the ASA will ensure that our students receive the best quality training in the appraisal of art and decorative objects,” says Charles Münster, Director of CCPS. The goal of the program, Münster adds, is to help prepare students to become skilled appraisers and/or connoisseurs through a course of study that encompasses a broad spectrum of collectible items, including fine art objects, jewelry, china, antiques, rugs, musical instruments, and silver. The USPAP course, and courses for Special Endorsement in Connoisseurship are also available.
“Students will acquire the necessary skills to assess items aesthetically, and will gain practical, handson experience in producing appraisals for a variety of specialized situations, including insurance coverage, estate tax reporting, damage claims, charitable contributions, sale, dissolution of marriage, equitable distribution, and liquidation,” says Münster.
Frances Zeman, an ASA fellow, senior appraiser, and the organization’s liaison and one of the instructors for the Pratt Appraisal Certificate program, is also a member of the program’s faculty. “The great thing about the courses,” Zeman says, “is that they teach students how to think about property in terms of broad analyses rather than as just an object. ”Margaret A. Olsen, a senior ASA-accredited appraiser and former Education Chair of ASA’s Personal Property Committee, is also a member of the faculty. She says that interest in the appraisal field has been burgeoning, thanks to such popular television shows as “Antiques Roadshow.”
“Other New York City-area institutions have entered the appraisal studies market,” says Olsen, “but Pratt’s CCPS program is taught by instructors who use a professional approach that follows the uniform standards of professional appraisal.”
Courses at other institutions, she explains, are often taught by dealers and auctioneers, which may lead to conflicts of interest. “Their approach is based on what they’d pay for an item,” she says, “which leaves students with the question: Are they going to tell me the truth about an item’s value if they may wish to buy it?”
“Completing the appraisal certificate is the first step toward becoming an appraiser. Practical experience, networking, and additional studies are all essential, beneficial steps,” adds Olsen.
Other Pratt CCPS/ASA faculty members include such distinguished instructors as Charles T. Rosoff, past president of the ASA’s New York Chapter and a
