About
Roth | Escher Art Group
Independent Expertise in Fine Art, Personal Property & Collection Stewardship
Roth | Escher Art Group is an independent fine art and personal property appraisal, collection management, and art advisory firm serving private collectors, families, attorneys, fiduciaries, corporations, institutions, and professional advisors. Our team brings together decades of experience in appraisal practice, art-historical research, collection management, registrarial practice, and the primary and secondary art markets. Whether valuing a single work of art or documenting a collection of thousands of objects, we bring careful research, professional judgment, and a clear understanding of the assignment to every project. Our expertise spans fine art, antiques, decorative arts, and personal property. Roth | Escher serves clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and across the United States.
Two Established Practices. One Expanded Resource.
Roth | Escher Art Group grew from a shared belief that bringing two established and complementary practices together would create something stronger for our clients. Roth Art Group and Escher Associates each brought decades of experience, trusted relationships, and distinct areas of expertise. Together, we are able to draw on a deeper pool of knowledge and specialists, broader geographic reach, and a more comprehensive range of services, while preserving the personalized approach and professional standards that have defined both firms. Today, Roth | Escher brings this combined experience to a wide range of appraisal and collection needs while maintaining the individualized attention of a specialized professional practice.Assignments may involve a single painting, the contents of a residence, an artist's estate, a corporate art program, or a complex private or institutional collection. Each requires an approach appropriate to the property and the purpose of the engagement.
Expertise That Extends Beyond Valuation
Roth | Escher's work encompasses three closely related disciplines.
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Appraisal Services
Our appraisers prepare independent, objective, impartial, and unbiased opinions of value for insurance, estate tax and probate, estate planning, charitable contributions, equitable distribution, collateral, bankruptcy, damage and loss, artists' estates, litigation, and other professional purposes.
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Appraisal assignments are supported by object-specific research, relevant market evidence, recognized appraisal methodology, and professional judgment.
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Collection Management
We help private collectors, families, corporations, artists, museums, universities, foundations, and other institutions identify, catalogue, document, research, organize, and maintain their collections.
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Our collection management work draws upon accepted museum and appraisal practices, registrarial experience, art-historical scholarship, and practical knowledge of collection stewardship.
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Art Advisory
We provide independent research and perspective for decisions involving acquisitions, sales and dispositions, collection strategy, corporate art programs, and the long-term development of collections.
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Because Roth | Escher does not sell artwork, our advisory work remains independent of the financial outcome of a transaction.
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Independence Is Fundamental to Our Work
The art world includes auction houses, galleries, dealers, brokers, advisors, and other professionals who may have a financial interest in the purchase or sale of property. An independent appraisal and advisory practice has a different responsibility. Roth | Escher's role is to research the property, evaluate the relevant market evidence, apply appropriate professional methodology, and reach conclusions based on the requirements of the assignment rather than a desired financial outcome. Our appraisal fees are calculated hourly and based on the time required to complete an assignment, not on the value of the property being appraised. ‘This independence allows our appraisers and advisors to remain objective and independent when clients, attorneys, fiduciaries, insurers, financial professionals, institutions, and others rely upon our work.
Professional Standards & Accredited Expertise
Roth | Escher's appraisal practice is grounded in recognized professional standards. Our appraisal reports are prepared in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and the Principles of Appraisal Practice and Code of Ethics of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA). Our team combines Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) credentials, advanced academic training, decades of professional experience, and specialized knowledge of fine art, decorative arts, and personal property. Client confidentiality is fundamental to our practice.. Appraisal reports and client information are handled accordingly and are not released without the client's written permission except as otherwise required law.
Scholarship, Research & Professional Judgment
Information about art is more accessible than ever. Professional expertise lies in knowing how to evaluate that information, place it in context, and determine what is relevant to a particular assignment.
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An auction result alone does not establish value. A signature does not necessarily establish authorship. An online description does not replace object-specific research. And the appropriate market for one work may not be appropriate for another.
Research is evaluated alongside the characteristics of the property, relevant market, intended use of the assignment, and professional judgment.
Our work may involve:
Artist and maker research
Provenance research
Authentication and attribution research
Marks and inscription identification
Exhibition and publication histories
Catalogue raisonné research
Comparable sales analysis
Primary and secondary market research
Condition and conservation information
Collection documentation
Consultation with outside specialists
A Broad Network of Specialized Knowledge
Fine art and personal property span centuries of material, countless artists and makers, geographic regions, media, and object types. Specialized knowledge is essential.
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One of the strengths of Roth | Escher's combined practice is access to a broad network of scholars, conservators, specialists and other art professionals. When an assignment requires expertise beyond our team's areas of specialization, we identify and consult with the appropriate professionals..
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This allows us to address a wide range of property, while bringing the right expertise to each assignment.
Experience Across Collections of Every Scale
Roth | Escher works with both individual clients and professional and institutional users.
Our clients and professional partners include:
Private collectors and families
Attorneys
Financial advisors and wealth managers
Artists and artists' estates
Foundations and nonprofits
Executors and trustees
Accountants and tax professionals
Banks and lenders
Museums and cultural institutions
Cities, states, and public institutions
Fiduciaries
Insurance professionals
Corporations
Universities and colleges
Assignments may involve a single significant object, the contents of a residence, an inherited collection, an artist's body of work, or extensive private, corporate, and institutional holdings.
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Regardless of scale, each assignment is approached with careful identification, appropriate methodology, thorough research, objective analysis, and clear professional documentation.
Professional Expertise, Clearly Communicated
Our work often intersects with art, finance, law, insurance, taxation, estate planning, and family decision-making. Some clients are familiar with appraisal terminology and professional requirements, while others may be encountering concepts such as Fair Market Value, Replacement Value, intended use, effective date, provenance, or comparable market evidence for the first time. Professional rigor and clear communication are equally important. Our responsibility is to conduct the necessary research and analysis, as well as to explain the process and conclusions clearly so clients and intended users understand the work and how it applies to the matter at hand.
Serving Northern California, Southern California & Clients Nationwide
Roth | Escher Art Group serves clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and across the United States.
Our work is supported by decades of experience in fine art appraisal, collection management and advisory, together with a broad network of specialists, galleries, auction houses and other market resources.​
Independence. Objectivity. Scholarship. Professional standards. Clear documentation.