Heritage Appraisals, LLC — Attraction in Troy

It is with great pleasure I write this review of my experience with Heritage Appraisals, LLC and Kelly Knoll. In my repertoire of art pieces collected over the years there was an oil painting on canvas dated 1932 that piqued my curiosity regarding the artist, history and more importantly its worth. It’s a rather substantial piece in size with a beautifully engraved wood frame but the artist’s name was somewhat blurred and challenging to clearly identify. I searched online at all the art sites I could find and thought I had nailed who the artist was but what remained was that one small sliver of doubt I could be mistaken. Who I believed it to be was a famous and well sought after artist in his own right. I was ecstatic to think I had one of his art pieces and never knew. Definitely worth the appraisal costs to learn more about it. I turned to KELLY KNOLL for some guidance. I emailed her to ask if she could verify the signature before I presented it to her for expert appraisal and valuation. She was well familiar with the artist I referenced but when she took a look at the signature she quickly responded with much doubt that it was the artist I thought. Kelly said it must be another artist by the same last name who’s signature is quite similar. She encouraged me to continue searching and she would do likewise. It didn’t take long after that conversation I discovered an artist that lived in the same era with the same surname who’s signature nearly mimicked that of the artist I initially thought it was. KELLY WAS RIGHT!! I was so impressed with her knowledge and quick wit. She is the most charming and patient person you’ll ever meet. We had fun with what I called my informational journey in art. Unfortunately, my art piece DOES NOT hold the value I thought. Kelly quickly realized that it would not be helpful for me to have it professionally appraised for that reason. What honesty! I have other art pieces that may need a professional to appraise. I DEFINITELY will turn to Heritage Appraisals, LLC and Kelly Knoll. They...

My wife and I frequent the local art fairs and usually pick up a piece. We never worried about insurance until we suddenly realized several years ago that if something catastrophic happened (fire, tornado, break-in), our regular homeowners would only cover a very small percentage of the value of our collection. Upon checking, our insurance company said they would only add scheduled items if we had a formal appraisal and they also strongly suggested adding a home security system.

We chose Heritage Appraisal (Kelly Knoll) because they were in town, reasonably priced, and had good reviews, and we have never regretted that decision. Since we really didn’t know what we had, the 1st time Kelly came, we asked her to go over the whole house, top to bottom, and identify all non-household items that might have a replacement value over $1,000. The resulting list contained many of the items we expected, added several items we hadn’t realized had appreciated, and left off a number of items that had not appreciated.

With that list as the starting point, Kelly did the research to provide background on each artist and establish an accurate replacement value. For each piece, she took photos, measurements, and recorded our purchase price. When possible, she also contacted the artist to capture their sense of the value of the art work. The resulting document is exactly what the insurance company needed, and is now also part of our...

I enthusiastically recommend Kelly Knoll and Heritage Appraisals. They check all the boxes for an art/collectibles appraisal company. Kelly was very responsive, honest, professional and offered knowledgeable appraisal advice that was understandable and in our best interest. There is a good reason why their appraisal schedule is so booked out. It's because they are great at what they do. Their service is worth the wait if you desire to have a legitimate, credible appraisal done. Kelly still took the time to quickly review several images of the pieces I sent to her and called me right back, offering immediate, tangible advice that enabled me to quickly decide to keep, rather than proceed with a full appraisal and ultimately pursue selling the pieces in question in an estate settlement. Unlike a gallery or art dealer that may offer an "appraisal service", they are an accredited appraiser that does not maintain a vested interest in the pieces they appraise for resale. Thus, their primary focus is to offer a 100% professionally objective appraisal with nothing to gain from the potential "sale-ability" or market value of the piece(s) they appraise. They do appraisals...period! I will definitely return to Heritage Appraisals if I have an appraisal need...