DARCY TELL, APPRAISER
PROFILE
• Appraiser in antiques and decorative arts. Over 30 years non-profit and gallery sector expertise in research for provenance, attribution, and publication, including photo and sales research; American art, art documentation and archives, photography, literature, museum history, the history of taste; European fine and decorative arts; antiques; industrial and other mid-century design.
• Writer and editor. Author of Times Square Spectacular (Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2007), winner of First Prize for Best Four-Color Scholarly Reference Book, Book Industry Guild of New York, 2008; and scholarly essays and reviews.
• Editor working on teaching manuals, style guides, and other materials for the American Society of Appraisers Personal Property Committee. Consulting editor for appraisers in Washington, D.C., metro area.
Experience
APPRAISER, ANTIQUES AND DECORATIVE ARTS; FINE ARTS, JUNE 2015-PRESENT
ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, DC, 1986-APRIL 2015
Editor, Archives of American Art Journal, the nation’s first and oldest scholarly publication on American art and art history, drawing on Archives of American Art’s more than 20 million archival items. Researched, wrote, and commissioned articles and features on American fine art, culture, and works of decorative art
Managing Editor, Archives of American Art Journal, with primary responsibility for researching and supervising publication of the Smithsonian Institution’s quarterly magazine on American art
MAGAZINES AND MEDIA PRODUCTION COMPANIES, NEW YORK, NY
Freelance Writer, Editor, and Researcher, working with directors and writers on projects that included Thomas Eakins, William Wyler (both for PBS series American Masters), and American sports (for Time Incorporated’s magazine Sports Illustrated)
THE ASIA SOCIETY, NEW YORK, NY
Film Department Program Associate, organizing and promoting festivals of Asian feature films presented at major New York Asian art gallery venue
EDWARD R. LUBIN WORKS OF ART, NEW YORK, NY, 1981-1982
Gallery Associate, assisting with research, sales, promotion, and acquisition for this gallery of European sculpture, glass, enamel, metalwork, tapestry, and other decorative works of art dating from the Middle Ages through 1830
EUROPEAN WORKS OF ART DEPARTMENT, SOTHEBY’S, NEW YORK, NY, 1980-1981
Cataloguer, researcher, archives manager for Sotheby’s expert department selling European sculpture, glass, enamel, metalwork, tapestry, and other decorative works of art dating from the Middle Ages through 1830.
Education
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, PURCHASE, NY, CERTIFICATE PROGRAM, APPRAISAL STUDIES, JUNE 2015
PP 202: Development of a Personal Property Appraisal: Research & Analysis
PP 203: Communication of a Personal Property Appraisal: Report Writing
PP 204: Personal Property Valuation: the Legal & Regulatory Environment
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF APPRAISERS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, FEBRUARY 2015
PG 201: Introduction to Personal Property Valuation
CONNOISSEURSHIP COURSES IN DECORATIVE ARTS, 2015-2019
American Society of Appraisers
Winterthur Museum
Jeffrey S. Evans, Auctioneer
SOTHEBY’S WORKS OF ART COURSE, London
Completed year-long/full-time professional connoisseurship course for training of department experts and gallerists, Sotheby’s, London, with class ranking in top 5%
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, B.A., Art History
Affiliations & Conferences
Associate Member (A.M.), Antiques and Decorative Arts specialty, American Society of Appraisers
Completed all education, examination, and hourly requirements for accreditation
PERSONAL PROPERTY CONNOISSEURSHIP CONFERENCE, SANTA FE, Las Vegas, 2022: Attendee
PERSONAL PROPERTY CONNOISSEURSHIP CONFERENCE, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, 2019: Attendee
PERSONAL PROPERTY CONNOISSEURSHIP CONFERENCE, DETROIT, MI, 2018: Speaker and Panelist
PERSONAL PROPERTY CONNOISSEURSHIP CONFERENCE, BOSTON, MA, 2016: Attendee
INTERNATIONAL APPRAISERS CONFERENCE, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, 2015: Panelist
Memberships
French Porcelain Society
English Ceramic Circle
Furniture History Society
Sotheby's Works of Art Course Alumnae Association
Association of Art Editors