Art Advisory Services
Maria Brito provides independent art advisory services to private collectors, families, companies, trusts and estates, artist estates and foundations, and select established artists. Based in New York and working globally, we advise clients across the full life cycle of collecting, from acquisition and collection strategy to installation, management, sale and long-term planning.
ACQUISITIONS AND COLLECTION STRATEGY
We work with individuals ranging from new collectors to seasoned ones, representing their interests and working on their behalf to build art collections that are meaningful, relevant and informed by both artistic quality and market intelligence.
Because we represent our clients rather than galleries, dealers or auction houses, our advice is independent. We help clients navigate an art market that can be opaque and relationship-driven, providing the access, context and judgment necessary to identify exceptional works, understand value, negotiate effectively and make informed acquisitions.
Our advisory services include:
• Discovery and development of a collecting strategy
• Primary and secondary market acquisitions
• Access to galleries, artists’ studios, art fairs, private dealers and auction houses worldwide
• Private and off-market opportunities
• Market intelligence, comparable sales and pricing analysis
• Evaluation of quality, provenance, condition and market context
• Acquisition negotiations
• Custom artist commissions
COLLECTION CARE, CURATION AND INSTALLATION
Our involvement does not end when a work is acquired. We help clients live with and manage their collections over time, considering the relationship between the art, the architecture and the way each client lives. We work directly with collectors and, when appropriate, alongside architects and interior designers to ensure that every aspect of a collection is handled with care.
Our advisory services include:
• Curation, placement and installation
• Framing and conservation coordination
• Shipping and specialized art handling
• Collection documentation and management
• Insurance and storage coordination
• Appraisal coordination
• Collection reviews, rehangs and ongoing planning
SELLING ART
Knowing when to sell can be as important as knowing what to buy. We advise clients on what to sell, what to keep, what a work may realistically be worth and where it is best positioned in the market.
Because we represent the owner rather than the venue receiving the consignment, we can independently evaluate auction houses, galleries, dealers and private buyers, negotiate competing proposals and recommend the strategy we believe best serves the client.
Our advisory services include:
• Market analysis and valuation
• Sale and deaccession strategy
• Auction, gallery, dealer and private-sale options
• Consignment and commission negotiations
• Private buyer opportunities
• Oversight of the sale process from valuation through completion
TRUSTS, ESTATES AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
Art collections can present complicated questions during estate planning, inheritance, succession and other major transitions. We work with collectors and families as well as attorneys, trustees, executors, family offices, wealth advisors and other professionals who need experienced, independent guidance on art and the market surrounding it.
Depending on the circumstances, we can assess an existing collection, coordinate valuations and appraisals, identify works that may be appropriate to retain or sell, develop a sale strategy and oversee the process on behalf of the client and their advisors.
Our advisory services include:
• Collection reviews and inventory assessment
• Valuation and appraisal coordination
• Market analysis
• Recommendations on retaining, selling or transferring works
• Sale and deaccession strategy
• Coordination with attorneys, trustees, executors and financial advisors
• Oversight of collection-related transactions
ARTIST ESTATES, FOUNDATIONS AND SELECT ARTISTS
We also work selectively with artist estates, foundations and established artists at pivotal moments in the life of a career or legacy. These engagements are highly individual and draw on our experience across the commercial, curatorial and institutional sides of the art world.
Advisory may encompass market positioning, gallery relationships, institutional opportunities, exhibitions, archives and inventories, strategic placement of works and long-term planning for an artist’s legacy.
This advisory is offered selectively and is not a portfolio review or artist-submission service.
CORPORATE AND INSTITUTIONAL ART ADVISORY
We advise companies and institutions on acquiring, commissioning and integrating art into professional and public environments. Rather than approaching these projects with predetermined inventory, we develop each collection around the organization, its architecture, its audience and its objectives.
Our advisory services may include:
• Art acquisition and collection strategy
• Site-specific commissions
• Art for offices, headquarters, hospitality and public spaces
• Curation and installation
• Artist and gallery negotiations
• Collection management
• Exhibition and special-project curation
• Artist collaborations and commissioned projectS
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR COLLECTION
Whether you are beginning a collection, looking for an important work, managing what you already own, considering a sale or facing a more complex question involving an estate or an artist’s legacy, it usually begins with a conversation.