David Shapiro, AAA: Fine Art Appraiser + Advisor

David Shapiro is a New York-based USPAP-compliant fine art appraiser and advisor in private practice. A Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America with a Certification in Postwar and Contemporary Art, an Accreditation in Impressionist and Modern Art, and extensive experience valuing a wide range of fine art, Mr. Shapiro's appraisals are for purposes including insurance (scheduling as well as loss in value following claims); IRS tax purposes (charitable donations, gifts, trusts, estates); and collateralized transactions.

Mr. Shapiro provides expert services for matters concerning art valuation and art market practices. More specifically, his current and recent expert engagements include disputes regarding damage to art and consequent loss in value as well as the assessment of fair market value following disputes arising from financial transactions. In disputed matters involving high-value works of fine art and collections, Mr. Shapiro has opined on value, loss in value, appraisal methodology, and art market practices. He has testified on such topics in deposition, mediation, and arbitration.

Mr. Shapiro has performed appraisal services for expert engagements concerning claimed damage and loss in value to fine art, including the following matters:

• Steadfast Insurance Company a/s/o Christie's Inc. v. T.F. Nugent Inc., et al. (involving a Pablo Picasso painting) (2019-22)
• Charles Riva Collection, Inc. v. Mignoni LLC (involving a Donald Judd sculpture) (2022)
• Artemus USA LLC And Edelman Arts, Inc. v. Leila Taghinia-Milani Inc., Leila Heller Art Gallery LLC, Leila Heller and Alexander Heller (involving a Frank Stella sculpture) (2017-20)
• Peter Max, Viamax, Inc., and Alp, Inc. vs. Great American Security Insurance Co. and Interested Underwriters at Lloyds (100,000+ items) (case: 2013-21; testimony in arbitration: 2015-2018)

Mr. Shapiro contributed to the 2014 appraisal of the entire collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts in connection with the City of Detroit Bankruptcy Filing, the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. He was subsequently retained to perform art appraisal services in the sentencing phase of a federal fraud case, United States v. Luke D. Brugnara (2015), involving works on paper attributed to Willem de Kooning and an Edgar Degas sculpture, among other art.

As an advisor, Mr. Shapiro works with private clients in facilitating purchases and sales of modern and contemporary works of art, with examples of recent placements including works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Derek Fordjour, Sam Gilliam, Danielle Mckinney, Odili Donald Odita, Chris Ofili, Elizabeth Peyton, Andy Warhol, and Zhang Enli, among others, including emerging artists.

Mr. Shapiro lectures regularly on the art market and art valuation. He has presented for organizations including ArtTable, AXA XL Insurance, Chubb, Gallagher Insurance, the Lloyd's Market Association with the International Underwriting Association, Markel Insurance Company, the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), the Private Risk Management Association (PRMA), Sotheby's Institute of Art, and Talbot AIG. Mr. Shapiro is a Committee Member for the New York Metro chapter of PRMA and a member of the Professional Advisors to the International Art Market (PAIAM). He has served as a juror for the Armory Show in New York and has contributed to the Art Law Bulletin of the law firm, Shook, Hardy & Bacon. His comments on the art market (particularly the high end of the auction market) and art appraisal methodology are included regularly in publications such as ARTnews,  Artsy, Bloomberg Business, and the New York Times.

Mr. Shapiro holds a BA in Art History from Columbia University and a Certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts from New York University, and he studied in the PhD program in Modern Art History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Mr. Shapiro has a background as an exhibiting studio artist and as an academic art historian, having taught courses of at several universities. He is the founding editor of the contemporary art publication Museo and has served as a contributing editor to several art history textbooks. A complete CV is given below.