Dan M.

I was recently caught up in the wildfires that occurred in Southern Oregon in September of 2020. My situation was dire and I lost all of my possessions that it had taken a lifetime to acquire. Included in my collection were several photographs from known artists that had also been destroyed.

Feeling overwhelmed, I contacted a friend of mine who’s grandmother was an internationally renowned photographer. He put me in touch with a premier photographic appraisal company based in NYC who had recently archived his grandmother’s work before being donated to a major university. When I contacted them they were unable to work with me based on scheduling issues, so they recommended Jennifer Stoots and I couldn’t be happier with how the situation worked out.

Jennifer was extremely easy to work with and her passion and knowledge of subject is remarkable. She was able to perform with the very limited amount of documentation I could provide due to everything being lost in the fire. In addition, the galleries that I had purchased the works from had closed so there was no way to get documentation from that side. I was lucky enough to have a few digital photographs stored on the cloud that barely showed the works in question in the background. Using those digital photographs along with the information I provided about purchasing the pieces, Jennifer was able to prepare comprehensive appraisals for the lost artwork.

I provided the insurance company with the appraisals from Jennifer and I’m happy to say that I was reimbursed for the full amount based on her findings. The pieces in question had all appreciated significantly which provided at least a small silver lining to my situation.

I have learned a lot during this life changing event and will now store documentation very differently going forward. I will work with Jennifer again as she completely exceeded my expectations and I would recommend her to anybody in need of appraisal services. My hope going forward is to begin my collection again, but this time I plan on staying in touch with Jennifer to protect myself financially