vate owners. Prices for items range
from $60 to $60,000 in a business
that tallies $500,000 in annual sales.
"Every artwork has a story," says
Cohn. On the whole, we get our art
from older collectors or from institu-
tions and sell to young, and often
beginning, collectors, who find that
the variety makes the gallery a com-
fortable place to buy art."
Cohn met Ronnie Miller Taylor, a
former autoworker, while traveling
on the West Coast and became
impressed with his talents. After
learning of his Michigan connection,
she invited him to do a one-man
show. The artist died the next day.
Shortly after Cohn's trip, Taylor's
parents contacted her. They informed
her of the death, explained finding
notes about the proposed exhibition
and asked if the plans could go ahead.
"We had the show with lots of his
family and friends coming through,
and we sold everything except one
item," Cohn says. "I think of Ronnie,
and I'm glad we met."
Artspace II, located at 303 E.
Maple, is filled with different artistic
forms and styles. There are small
paintings of beach scenes by John
Michaels. There is an Agelio Bade
graphite sculpture of a hand with a

pointed finger that writes like a pen-
cil. There are pre-Columbian artifacts
made out of clay and stone.
All the works — including pieces
by Henri Matisse, Alex Katz, Pablo
Picasso and Jim Dine — are on con-
signment for a predetermined period
of time, so inventory is constantly
changing. Last year, Cohn handled
300 consignments. Prints from the
1940s and 1950s are her biggest draw.
"I act as a broker between sellers and
buyers of art," says Cohn, who has been
in her current gallery for three years
after working for two years on a limited
basis in her home. "I accept a small per-
cent of the artwork people want to sell.
When I turn something down, it's not a
function of price. It's a function of the
integrity of the art."
Cohn's interest in .art came from
her parents, Albert and Sadie Padover,
who were modest collectors.
Throughout Cohn's life, collecting
remained important. She and her hus-
band, U.S. District Judge Avern
Cohn, will be showing their works of
art when they open their home this
fall for a tour to benefit Israel Bonds.
Cohn's interest in opening a gallery
came from her sister, Claire Carlevaro,
who has a gallery in California.
"Research is a critical part of what I

Colleen Houlihan helps Lois Cohn move 'Jill Facing Right."

do, and my sister explained how to go
about it."
Before then, Cohn worked in
broadcasting as an investigative
reporter for the late commentator Lou
Gordon and then as moderator for a
newsmagazine on Channel 56.
"I sat at my sister's desk, and she
taught me everything about running
her business," says Cohn, who opened
Artspace along Woodward in
Birmingham in 1984, went into semi-

Gauging The Market

E

ach time Lois Pincus Cohn sees artistic value in an object for her gallery, Artspace II, she also must envision
the dollar value it will bring from a buyer. While she can rely on her personal sense of aesthetics for the
artistry, she relies on a network of appraisers and publications to help determine the item's worth.
Pricing based on comparison is the foundation of selling art.
"Appraising depends on knowing what comparable items are sold for," says
Joan Walker, a partner at the DuMouchelle Gallery in Detroit. "Knowing what
other dealers are asking will help provide a going rate. It's good to do a lot of
looking."
Auction records are very important in establishing the prices of objects created by
well-known, popular artists. What an oil painting earned at a recent auction, for
example, translates into a price for a similar item created by the same artist.
There also are specific art periodicals that provide pricing information. Hali, a tex-
tile magazine published in England, lists selling prices of prized carpets.
Its to the advantage of both the artist and the gallery to ask the highest price pos-
sible," says Ruth Rattner, a certified fine art appraiser. "The buyer may want to get a
second appraisal before making a decision and should look for someone who is an
expert in the specific area of art. There's no such thing as an art value 'guesstimate.'"
Rattner advises that the value of a work of art can vary according to the purpose of the
appraisal. For instance, an item appraised for insurance gets a higher value than one
being assessed for immediate sale. That's because insurance must replace an item some
"Self Portrait" by Milton Avery.
time later in the event it is lost or stolen.
Sylvia Nelson, director of the Janice Charach Epstein Museum/Gallery at the D.
Dan & Betty Kahn Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, looks into auc-
tion house records to set prices for works by established artists. When she has a show by emerging artists, she goes by
whatever the artists suggest because there is no basis for comparison.
"Many factors — decorative, investment, intellectual, nostalgic — enter into the market value and price people will pay
for a work of art," says Kenneth Gross, art museum project director at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. "Ultimately,
each work should really be chosen based on whether the buyer loves it and really wants it at home."

— Suzanne Chessler

7 /23
1999

102 Detroit Jewish News

retirement in 1994 and returned to
full-time work after realizing she
missed the day-to-day challenges.
When items catch Cohn's eye, she
establishes their value through an
extensive library maintained at the
gallery and through networking with
professionals across the country.
Cohn, over the years she has been in
business, has watched the cash value
increase for items done by artists who
lived in Detroit's Cass Corridor in the
1960s. Beautiful body figures created by
Bradley Jones and symbolic, gritty
paintings by Brenda Goodman have
been sold through Artspace II. The
fastest-selling item ever offered by Cohn
was a Robert Motherwell lithograph,
"The Redness of Red."
"Immediately after the seller walked
our the back door, the buyer walked
in the front door," recalls Cohn.
Her two daughters have turned art
into their professions. Lisa Pincus is
completing requirements for a doctor-
ate in art history at the University of
Chicago, and Julie Pincus is a graphic
artist.
Cohn believes that the lighting
environment is critical to artwork.
Convinced that the right lighting
warms up a room, she offers a range
of fixtures, some of them artworks in
themselves. The pieces range from an
art deco ceramic shape to a modern
paper sculpture.
Beautiful antiques sometimes come
her way, too, when couples downsize
for retirement. A French chair recently
has been in her window, and a big,
wooden, 19th century farm table per-
forms well for her because it offers
display space.
"I won't worry if the table sells,"
Cohn says. "I know from experience
that something else will come in." ri