In return for a $20 donation to the Mercer Museum, you can bring two pieces of art to appraisal day at the Paul Gratz Gallery in Doylestown.
From one 'til five on Saturday, they'll be offering verbal appraisals.
"Appraising is really a scientific method," explains ISA Certified Appraiser Cindy Charleston Rosenberg of Art Appraisal Firm LLC. "So, you look at about 10 different variables in assessing value for a particular work of art."
"Written appraisals can run anywhere from $150 to $500," explains Paul Gratz, owner of the Gratz Gallery and Conservaton Studio. "So, it's a great bargain for people and they can get a better idea of what they have in their attic or their basement."
And sometimes, people get great surprises.
The owners of one pretty painting of a woman tending her peonies were going to ask $500 for it at a yard sale.
At appraisal day, they learned it was painted by New-Jersey-born impressionist Matilda Browne -- and the frame was hand-carved by Carrig-Rohane. Total worth: about $75,000. "Sometimes the frame can be worth more than the painting itself," Gratz explains.
Another customer learned a painting of people on the picnic was a Paulette Van Roekens original in an Arthur Meltzer frame -- worth about 20-thousand dollars.
You can also get estimates on art restoration work.
For more information about the Gratz Gallery Appraisal Day, click here.
