Vanessa M Elmore, ISA AM

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Vanessa M Elmore
ISA member since Feb 07, 2014

(505) 231-9367 (Mobile)

Unpublished
Santa Fe, NM 87501 map

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About

For over 20 years, Vanessa Elmore has been steeped in the most active market for American Indian Art in the world—Santa Fe, New Mexico, which also happens to be in the top five art markets in the United States.  Elmore built experience serving as a professional art gallerist and consultant for two top American Indian Art galleries, and in her time in the retail art market, she handled innumerable antique and contemporary works of art, connecting them to novice and seasoned collectors at all levels, including individuals, museums, and corporations.   In 2014, she struck out on her own and began Elmore Art Appraisals, offering professional art appraisals and collector consulting services. Elmore maintains a wide knowledge base regarding American Indian material cultures and conducts herself with the utmost respect when handling such artworks. She employs specific processes for the identification and, in some cases the authentication, of objects, paying closing attention to provenance and ownership history. Elmore is especially adept at performing in-depth research and writing for individual works and collections.    Her Master of Arts degree should also suggest that Elmore uses scholarly rigor when creating documentation and approaches artworks armed with the most progressive and up-to-date information regarding the elements of discovery. She is particularly experienced at making art market analyses that are specific to the nuances of American Indian Art history, and to bolster her opinions, experience, and knowledge base, she maintains expert contacts across the spectrum of the American Indian Art world.

Elmore Art Appraisals provides appraisal and consulting services for American Indian Art of North America. Services include appraisal reports for insurance coverage and claims, charitable contributions and repatriations, estate tax reporting and equitable divisions, acquisition and deaccession considerations, collateral loans and personal wealth portfolios. Elmore also offers collection management services and collector advisory services, available as single-assignments or on a retainer basis. 

*All time periods covered: Prehistoric, Historic, and Contemporary.

 *All cultural regions of North America covered: Northeast/Woodlands, Southeast, Great Lakes, Prairie, Plains, Plateau/Great Basin, Southwest, California, Northwest Coast, Interior Canada, and Alaska.

*All artwork and material culture covered: Baskets, Beadwork, Clothing & Accessories, Dolls & Toys, Glass, Jewelry (shell, stone, silver, & gold), Katsinam, Ledger drawings, Mixed media, Paintings, Pottery, Sculpture (stone, wood, bronze, & ceramic), Textiles, and Works on paper. 

*I DO NOT APPRAISE: rough-hewn stones or axe heads, arrowheads, or other flint points and rock specimens, or "found" artifacts that are newly excavated.
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Education

2006 - Master of Arts, Art History
            (Specialization: Art of the Americas)    
            University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico

1998 - Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology & Art
             (both Art History & Studio Art tracts) 
             Colby College, Waterville, Maine     
  
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Professional Background

2014 - Present  Elmore Art Appraisals, Appraiser
                            -Providing art appraisal & consultation
                             services focused on American Indian Art.

2011 - 2015   Blue Rain Gallery, Art Consultant
                         -Contemporary American & American 
                           Indian Fine Arts

2000 - 2011   Morning Star Gallery, Assistant Director
                         -Antique American Indian, American, &
                          Spanish Colonial Fine Arts

1998 - 2000   Morning Star Gallery, Sales/Research
                                                                 Associate                          
                        -Antique American Indian, American, & 
                         Spanish Colonial Fine Arts          

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Advisory Roles

2016 - Present   Antique Tribal Arts Dealers Association   
                             (ATADA), Legal Committee Member

2010 - Present   Southwestern Association of American 
                            Indian Arts (SWAIA): Indian Market
                              -Various appointments of Juror and Judge, 
                                service on the prior Standards Committee 
                               -SWAIA is the nonprofit organization
                               responsible for the annual Indian Market
                               (established in 1922).

2019 - Present   Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, NM
                            -2019: Elected Board Member, & Collections Committee Chair
                            -2013-2014 Advisory Committee, founding member  
                                              
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*Fluent, Native Spanish speaker
*Available for Lectures & Speaking Engagements
*Extensive Writing and Editing Experience; Published Writer
*Expertise has been featured in both print and film media