2025 ASA Personal Property Appraisal Symposium

Includes Multiple Live Events. The next is on 04/24/2025 at 8:00 AM (CDT)

You must log in to register
- Early bird pricing available!
- Non-Member - $795
- Member - $695
- Regular Price after 03/28/2025 11:59 PM
- Non-Member - $975
- Member - $795
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Navigating Multicultural Markets: Appreciation to Application

Wednesday, April 23 - Saturday, April 26, 2025

Join us for the 2025 ASA Personal Property Appraisal Symposium—an experience designed to inspire, educate, and connect. This year’s event brings together industry leaders, market experts, and fellow appraisers for three days of scholarly sessions and invaluable networking opportunities.

Gain key market insights, explore emerging trends, and deepen your expertise through engaging discussions and practical takeaways. Beyond the sessions, take advantage of our exclusive post-event tours and discover Houston’s renowned museums, stunning architecture, and vibrant culture while connecting with colleagues.

Don’t miss this opportunity to grow your knowledge, expand your professional network, and be part of the premier event for personal property appraisers and allied professionals.

See agenda tab for details.

This event will not be recorded.

This program qualifies for up to 21.5 hours of CE credit.

Thank you to our Sponsors!

^{Photo Credits: Rago Auction, Simpson Galleries}

^{Photo Credits: Rago Auction, Simpson Galleries}

Wednesday, April 23

4:00pm - 7:00pm	Registration/Check-In
5:30pm - 7:00pm	Welcome Reception

Thursday, April 24

7:00am - 8:00am	Breakfast
8:00am - 8:15am	Welcome & Opening Remarks
8:15am - 9:15am	Early Houston Families Who Changed the Global Museum Map
9:15am - 10:00am	Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Elizabeth Essner \| Windgate Foundation Associate Curator of Craft \| Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Born in Hawai‘i to parents of Okinawan heritage, artist Toshiko Takaezu’s (1922-2011) profound impact on American art continues to resonate today. Renowned for her work in clay, Takaezu embraced a hybrid practice that included weaving, bronze casting, and painting on canvas, producing the same spontaneous gestures in acrylic that she achieved in ceramic glaze. In this lecture, Elizabeth Essner will delve into the artist’s life and work in Toshiko Takaezu: World’s Within, the first traveling retrospective of the artist in twenty years. She will also discuss how Takaezu’s work fits within MFAH’s distinguished craft collection.
10:00am - 10:30am	Toshiko Takaezu: A Booming Market Peter Held, ASA \| Peter Held Art Appraisals & Associates, LLC Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011) is an internationally recognized artist known for her distinctive style with an emphasis on sense of self and personal expression. In the last decade her ceramic art has been reevaluated with a growing market for her work which has dramatically increased. This presentation will review both the gallery and auction markets and her differing forms and glazes that affect values.
10:30am - 10:40am	Break
	Morning Panel: Asian Markets
10:40am - 11:30am	Case Study: Donation of an Important Imperial Chinese Screen in the MFAH Lark E. Mason \| President/CEO \| Lark Mason Associates The appraisal of works of art often requires tenacity and creativity in coaxing out information about an object. Surprising outcomes are not uncommon. Lark Mason shares his experience with a case-study of saving a masterwork that teetered on the brink of obscurity. Join us for this fascinating discussion.
11:30am - 12:20pm	Market Focus: Contemporary Chinese, Korean Art & Japanese Art Lark Mason, III \| Marketing & Operations Manager \| Lark Mason Associates
12:30pm - 1:30pm	Lunch & Learn Harvesting History A Look at African American Archives Genice Lee, ASA \| Sr. Appraiser \| Harvest Estate & Appraisal Services In this presentation, we will revisit the critical details to consider when accessing African American archives. Our discussion will include an insightful case study that highlights the complexities and nuances involved in this research.
1:30pm - 2:20pm	Cultural Consumption and Monetizing Moments: Observations from 30 years as an Art Advisor Melissa K. Grobmyer \| President, Founding Partner \| MKG Art Management, LLC With a practice grounded in the history of art, Melissa makes observations from a 30 year career in the art world.
	Afternoon Panel: Prints, Photography, Books & Manuscripts
2:20pm - 3:20pm	Originals: The Appeal and Market of Illustration Art Sarahjane Blum \| Director of Illustration \| Heritage Auctions Touching on familiar names like Norman Rockwell and Dean Cornwell, as well as artists who are less known to those outside of the Illustration Art community, this talk will provide an overview into the popular, growing collecting field. The interest in the original images used to create the movie posters, paperback and magazine covers, advertising and more that make up the visual language of our culture continues to grow. This talk will help provide insights into how to research original illustration as well as offer an overview of this exciting market.
3:20pm - 3:30pm	Break
3:30pm - 4:30pm	Photography Market Trends – What’s Hot and What’s Not Deborah Rogal \| Director, Photographs Department \| Swann Galleries The photography market has become a fast-paced environment of auctions, fairs, and gallery shows, and like many mediums the headlines over the last year have focused on softening sales. But, a deeper look reveals areas of strength and dynamism, notably at entry level price points. Recent trends in sales, changes in the market post-Covid, and reconsiderations of the medium all allow a deeper look at selling trends.
4:30pm - 5:30pm	Books & Historical Documents, Oh My! Darren Winston \| Senior VP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia \| Freeman's\|Hindman How to prepare yourself to work in a discipline you may know nothing about. Knowing who to call--and when--and how a deep bench may be the secret to your success.
5:30pm	Enjoy the evening on your own to explore The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The Museum is located directly across from Hotel ZaZa, is open late and is free on Thursdays.

Friday, April 25

7:15am - 8:15am	Breakfast
	Morning Panel: Auction Markets: Insights & Resources for Appraisers
8:15am - 9:15am	Bananas! A Survey of the Recent Contemporary Art Market Alasdair Nichol \| Executive Vice President, Deputy Chairman \| Freeman’s\|Hindman Learn how Covid led to a dramatic shift within the auctioneering industry specifically relating to the Fine Art market. We'll examine its impact, and the emerging trends and economic fluctuations that we have witnessed in recent years.
9:15am - 10:15am	American Art and Market Trends: A Study of the Past Ten Years at Auction Raphael Chatroux \| Vice President, Head of Department, Impressionist and Modern Art \| Freeman's\|Hindman
10:15am - 10:30am	Break
10:30am - 11:30am	From Niche to Global: How 20th Century Design Has Evolved Over the Past 20 Years Carolyn Pastel, AAA \| Pastel Advisory, LLC Discussion of trends in 20th Century Design from Tiffany Studios to Les Lalannes. How the category blurred the boundary between furniture and art and evolved into a major collecting category.
11:30am - 12:00pm	Auction House Round Table Q&A
12:30pm - 1:30pm	Lunch & Learn You're Wearing That? A Look at Current Trends in Menswear Sales on the Secondary Market Deborah Miller, ASA \| Owner \| Deborah Miller Appraisals, LLC Using the Metropolitan Museum of Art's upcoming exhibition "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" as a jumping off point, we will examine what is selling at auction and why as well as trends in the private marketplace for menswear.
	Afternoon Panel: Latin American, Southwest & Contemporary Native American Markets
1:30pm - 3:10pm	Desde la Tierra: SouthWest Art \| Modern and Contemporary Indigenous Art Scott W. Hale, WSET2, ISA, AM \| Principal \| South West Art Advisory Desde la Tierra is a two part presentation; the first half focuses on the art of what was historically the “Spanish Northern Frontier”, investigating the influences of Indigenous, Latin, and Western creators, culminating in multiple and distinct “SouthWest” artforms. The second half focuses on Modern to Contemporary Indigenous art, from 19th Century Ledger art to 21st Century ultra contemporary art.
3:10pm - 3:25pm	Break
3:25pm - 4:15pm	Market Focus: Latin American Art Allison Armstrong Ayers \| Partner, Director \| Sicardi Ayers Bacino
5:15pm - 7:30pm	Private Art Collection Visit and Reception Bus transportation provided.

Saturday, April 26

8:00am - 8:30am	Breakfast
8:30am - 11:00am	Appraisers as Expert Witnesses

Optional Post Event Tours

12:00pm - 5:00pm
*Additional fees may apply. To register, please select the Saturday Tour Add-On listed under Event Sessions on the second page of registration. Space is limited.

Tour 1: Decorative Arts
Bus Departs Hotel ZaZa at 12pm.

Bayou Bend & Rienzi at MFAH
$90 includes transportation, docent tours and 3 hours of CE credit

Join us for docent led tours of the MFAH’s famed Bayou Bend and Rienzi house museums and gardens.

Bayou Bend Collection and Garden, designed by architect John Staub, is the former home of Houston philanthropist Ima Hogg. Ms. Hogg competed with her contemporary rival, Henry du Pont, to acquire the finest examples of American decorative arts. The collection showcases approximately 4,700 objects from 1620 to 1876 installed, much like at Winterthur, in some 28 period room settings.

Rienzi is the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts. Originally the home of arts patrons Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III, Rienzi comprises a remarkable art collection, house, and gardens. For more than 40 years, the Mastersons collected European decorative arts, paintings, furnishings, and porcelain made from the 17th to mid-19th centuries.

Tour 2: Fine Arts
Walkable or Transportation on Your Own.

The Menil Collection
No charge, no CE credit offered (visitor guide & map provided)

Enjoy an afternoon on your own to explore the Menil, a collection of art buildings and green spaces nestled within a residential neighborhood in Houston’s Museum District, just 1 mile from Hotel ZaZa. ning the prehistoric era to the present day, the Menil’s holdings, now over 20,000 works, grew out of personal and intellectual passions rather than encyclopedic ambitions. The heart of the collection is comprised of artworks and objects gathered by founders and human rights activists, John and Dominique de Menil, who left Nazi-occupied France in 1941 and settled in Houston.

Enjoy free access to Menil’s main museum building, Drawing Institute, Cy Twombly Gallery, Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall and Fresco Building and the Rothko Chapel’s Welcome House. And don’t miss the neighborhood and green spaces, punctuated with outdoor sculpture by a variety of artists. Enjoy lunch on your own at the Bistro Menil and time permitting, the Sicardi Gallery is just two blocks away.

Agenda subject to change.

Full Conference
Early Bird Rates - Through March 28, 2025
$695 - ASA Member
$795 - Non-Member

Regular Rates - Starting March 29, 2025
$795 - ASA Member
$975 - Non-Member

$395 - ASA Student Member Rate
If you're an ASA student member, please email education@appraisers.org to register at the discounted rate.

AAA and ISA Members use discount code $100PPA$! to receive the ASA Member Rate!

One-Day Only - Thursday or Friday
Early Bird Rate - Through March 28, 2025
$495 - ASA Member/Non-Member

Regular Rate - Starting March 29, 2025
$595 - ASA Member/Non-Member

One-Day Only - Saturday Morning
Early Bird Rate - Through March 28, 2025
$295 - ASA Member/Non-Member

Regular Rate - Starting March 29, 2025
$395 - ASA Member/Non-Member

Conference fee includes: welcome reception (Wednesday), breakfast, lunch and breaks on Thursday/Friday and breakfast Saturday.

Group Discounts
A 10% discount off the current, applicable registration fee is available for five or more individuals registering from the same organization. Individuals must be registered as a group to qualify for the discount. For additional details and instructions on how to register, please contact ASA Member Services at +1 800-272-8258 or +1 703-478-2228 or via e-mail at asainfo@appraisers.org.

Optional Tours Saturday Afternoon
Fine Arts Tour
No Charge - ASA Member/Non-Member/Guest

Decorative Arts Tour
$90 - ASA Member/Non-Member/Guest

Guest
$75 - Welcome Reception Only
No Charge - Fine Arts Tour Only
$90 - Decorative Arts Tour Only
$75 - Welcome Reception and Fine Arts Tour
$165 - Welcome Reception and Decorative Arts Tour

To register for the Saturday afternoon tours, please see the Add-On options listed under Event Sessions on the second registration page.

Hotel

Hotel ZaZa
5701 Main Street
Houston, Texas

Situated in the heart of the vibrant Museum District, world-renowned Texas Medical Center and thriving downtown central business district, Hotel ZaZa Houston is an unexpected feast for the senses. Originally built in 1927 as luxury apartments, this 12-story building has become a landmark in Houston and boasts a collection of exquisite guestrooms and suites, including Pool Villas, Concept Suites and The Magnificent Seven Suites, award-wining dining at Monarch Bistro and a relaxing day spa onsite.

Special Group Rate: $259* single/double
Reservation Cutoff Date: Friday, March 28

Reservations made after the cutoff date will be subject to availability and current room rate. To make hotel reservations online, visit the ASA dedicated hotel reservation site. To make reservations by phone, contact Hotel Zaza directly at 888.880.3244. Be sure to mention ASA Personal Property Appraisal Symposium to receive the group rate.

*Plus $26.25 daily amenity fee and applicable taxes.

Travel

As the country's fourth largest airport system, the Houston Airport System serves over 180 cities worldwide. Choose convenient travel options to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) or Houston Hobby Airport (HOU). Ground transportation is easily accessible via taxi, ride share or rental car services offered at both locations.

Elizabeth Essner | Windgate Foundation Associate Curator of Craft | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Elizabeth Essner is the inaugural Windgate Foundation Associate Curator of Craft at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where she oversees the Museum’s modern and contemporary craft collection. She is the organizing curator for the traveling exhibition Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within at the MFAH. Elizabeth’s current projects also include Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernhard Schobinger, the first major US museum presentation of the avant-garde Swiss jewelry artist, co-curated with Cindi Strauss (2026), and a major retrospective of the Japanese American fiber artist Kay Sekimachi (2028). Elizabeth holds an M.A. in Design History from the Bard Graduate Center in New York and serves as Board Vice President of the Center for Craft in Asheville, North Carolina.

Peter Held, ASA | Owner | Peter Held Art Appraisals & Associates, LLC
In the course of Peter Held’s impressive three-decade career as a museum director and contemporary art curator, he has organized more than 200 exhibitions, including seven national traveling shows. Held is the author of numerous articles on contemporary art and craft and is the editor of and an essayist for 10 books including In the Language of Silence: The Art of Toshiko Takaezu (2010). Peter is the principal owner of Peter Held Art Appraisals & Associates, based in Arizona. A national personal property firm, he specializes in modern, contemporary art, and studio craft appraisals.

Lark E. Mason | President/CEO | Lark Mason Art Advisory
Lark E. Mason, Jr., President of the Appraiser’s Association of America, 2019-2021, was for nearly twenty-five years a senior officer, generalist, and expert in Chinese works of art with Sotheby’s, New York; and Chairman of Asia Week New York 2016-2017. He is an expert in Chinese art and antiquities, he has appeared on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow since its inception in 1996. He is the author of Asian Art, published in 2003, and translator of Wang Shixiang’s Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture. He serves as a Trustee for The Preservation Society of Newport Country, representing historic Newport’s collections and historic mansions. He is the founder of iGavel Auctions, Lark Mason Associates, and Lark Mason Art Advisory.

Lark Mason, III | Lark Mason Associates
Lark Mason, III oversees marketing and operations with Lark Mason Associates. He specializes in Asian arts and can be seen on Antiques Roadshow appraising a variety of items including a Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, 1000 - 500 B.C.E.; a Chinese Manchu Semi Formal Silk Surcoat; a Japanese Lacquer Tabako-bon, ca. 1900; and more.

Genice Lee, ASA | Owner | Harvest Estate & Appraisal Services
Genice Lee, owner of Harvest Estate and Appraisal Services LLC, is a Senior Accredited Appraiser in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area where she works as an appraiser, estate consultant and speaker. In ASA she currently sits on the personal property committee board and serves on the diversity, equity and inclusion committee. She has completed appraisals for properties that have been gifted or loaned to institutions such as The Doleman Black Heritage Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Howard University.

Melissa K. Grobmyer | President, Founding Partner | MKG Art Management, LLC
A native Houstonian, MELISSA GROBMYER earned her Bachelor of Arts and her Master of Arts degrees at the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with high honors. Before becoming an art advisor, Melissa worked with 9th through 18th century Decorative art at Sotheby’s in New York. Later she worked with contemporary art at Robert Miller Gallery and 19th century American art at Richard York Gallery, both in New York. In 1998, Melissa founded MKG Art Management and grew the business with the core values of transparency, integrity, and expertise. Over her career, Melissa has curated collections for Fortune 100 companies as well as for private collectors. These collections focus on various topics in American and European art, spanning the 19th through 21st centuries, and include painting, photography, sculpture and new media. She has also researched, assembled and administrated collections of Texas Regionalism, American Modernism, Abstract Expressionism, and 19th century Realism, Impressionism, and Beaux Arts painting. Over the last 3 decades, MKG has developed into a partnership of like-minded arts professionals, establishing a loyal clientele who rely on their unparalleled advice and project management acumen. MKG's structure as a fee-for-service firm, enables MKG to embrace each client’s unique goals and operate with complete transparency in an opaque marketplace.

Sarajane Blum | Director of Illustration | Heritage Auctions
Sarahjane Blum is the Director of Illustration Art at Heritage Auction-- the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer, and the largest for original comic art and illustration art, both in terms of total sales and worldwide records held. She has nearly 20 years of expertise as an art dealer, cultural historian, curator, and writer, and previously co-owned Grapefruit Moon Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Blum is a sought-after speaker, presenting at museums, academic conferences, and national collector events. She co-authored The Art of Pin-Up (Taschen Books, 2014) and has appeared in documentaries exploring Pin-Up Art and Glamour photography.

Deborah Rogal | Director, Photographs Department | Swann Galleries
Deborah Rogal joined the Photographs Department at Swann Galleries in 2006, and since 2020 has served as the department's Director. She has presided over numerous sales of private collections of photo books and rare photographs, including the 70th anniversary sale, a celebration of the first photography auction not only at Swann but in the US, works from the estate of Evelyne Z. Daitz, and the Virginia Zabriskie Collection. Deborah works closely with collectors throughout the consignment and buying process, often traveling to visit collections. Her wide-ranging responsibilities also include market analysis, scholarly research, and writing. Deborah has lectured about collecting and is an expert on the PBS television show Antiques Roadshow. She has wide-ranging expertise but holds special interest in Depression-era photography and photo books from all periods.

Darren Winston | Senior VP, Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts | Freeman's | Hindman
Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s | Hindman, has served as Head of the Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, and is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club. Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows.

Alasdair Nichol | Deputy Chairman & Director of Fine Arts | Freeman’s
Alasdair Nichol is Deputy Chairman of Freeman's | Hindman. He previously served as Chairman of Freeman's, and he and two colleagues acquired the company in a friendly management buy-out in 2016. He joined Freeman’s in 1999, and as an auctioneer of almost 30 years, has sold many significant collections, including The George D. Horst Collection of Fine Art, The Lehman Brothers Collection, The Collection of Dorrance "Dodo" H. Hamilton, The Stanley Bard Collection: A Life at the Chelsea, and numerous works that set new world auction records. He was instrumental in establishing Freeman’s departmental fine sales and has spearheaded the company’s mission of showcasing single-owner collections.

Carolyn Pastel, AAA | Founder/Owner | Pastel Advisory, LLC
Carolyn Pastel, AAA, is an independent art consultant and appraiser specializing in 20th and 21st Century Fine and Decorative Art and Founder of Pastel Advisory, LLC. She has twenty years of professional experience in the international art market on both the East and West coasts. After working in the global auction business for over twelve years as Vice President, Head of Sale, 20th Century Decorative Art & Design at Christie’s, New York, she founded Pastel Advisory LLC in San Francisco in 2017. During her tenure at Christie’s, Carolyn contributed to several market-defining record-breaking sales. She is a contributor to Design Miami the Forum and has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Maine Antiques Digest, and was featured in the 2016 documentary, Crazy about Tiffany’s, as a subject matter expert on Louis Comfort Tiffany. Carolyn graduated cum laude from Amherst College and studied Arts Administration at NYU. She is a Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) and The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) compliant.

Deborah Miller, ASA, ISA, AM | Owner | Deborah Miller Appraisals LLC
Deborah Miller is an appraiser of historic, vintage, and contemporary clothing, accessories, and textiles throughout North America. She is an accredited senior appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers with a designation in costume & couture, and an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers. Since 2009, she has been a regular textile and costume appraisal specialist on WGBH’s Antiques Roadshow. Ms. Miller has special expertise in 20th and 21st c. fashion, difficult to appraise one-off and unique properties, including those with celebrity association, haute couture, designer archives, very large collections, and rare textiles. Ms. Miller is often engaged as a consulting fashion and textile specialist for auction houses and frequently assists clients in the capacity of a broker for the dispersal of private clothing and textile collections.

Scott W. Hale, WSET2, ISA, AM | Principal | Southwest Art Appraisals
I am a third-generation art historian, appraiser, and advisor, born and raised in the art business. My grandfather was an art dealer and gallery owner, and my mother was a museum curator and credentialed art appraiser. Much of my childhood was spent in galleries, museums, and at art auctions. I grew up in and studied the American Southwest. I graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, and The University of Oklahoma for my master's and doctoral studies, teaching in the English Department, Film and Media Studies Department, and Native American Studies Department. I also lectured in the School of Visual Arts and at many art museums, publishing in books, journals, and magazines. With almost thirty years’ experience in the art market, I am an IRS-qualified appraiser and an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA AM), having chaired their Specialty and Advanced Studies Committee (SAS). I am also a contract specialist (Sotheby’s, Heritage, Santa Fe Art Auction, Gurr Johns) and a Chubb Preferred Service Provider.

Components visible upon registration.