Partner Focus – Talbot Capes Ltd
Talbot Capes Fine Art Management offers high-quality, discreet curatorship and care for art collections of all sizes and contents. The team handles everything from cataloguing, provenance research and inventory management, to shipping and installation, advising on climate control and conservation. Working to museum quality standards, they ensure the highest level of care to art collectors all over the world.
Prior to founding the company, director Sarah Capes had worked in both the public and private sectors of the art world for over ten years; exclusively with private collections for five years. She identified a clear market need for a business that could combine the curatorial skills necessary for public museums and galleries with those needed in private collections.
“The most exciting part of being an art collector is looking at art, making a purchase, and enjoying hanging that piece on the wall. But every work of art has a life of its own beyond that. Even a brand new contemporary artwork needs to be appropriately cared for in order to preserve it for future generations: it needs to be skilfully installed and well-lit, in safe environmental conditions. It needs to be properly logged, photographed and documented in a secure database, in order to save time and money on administrative procedures later down the line. All public museums and galleries have at least one curator – if not several – carrying out these tasks, and we believe that private collections should be able to secure with absolute confidence that same detailed level of care.”
By combining research, administration, curatorship and preventive conservation advice, Talbot Capes Fine Art Management provides peace of mind that not only are their clients’ artworks being appropriately preserved, but the value of the collection is fundamentally protected. Sarah and her expert team streamline what can be the daunting and time-consuming process of organising the documentation associated with every art collection – purchase records, sales invoices, photography, literature, import / export documents; this in turn can streamline a host of other processes, from organising insurance policies to legacy and estate planning.
The art market remains an opaque and unregulated one, where it can be difficult to know who to trust. As impartial and unbiased curators, Sarah and her team are able to offer honest opinions and act as a sounding board when clients are presented with acquisition proposals.
Having an overview of an entire collection allows the team to advise on acquisitions that will contribute thematically and sensibly to the collection as a whole, which can subsequently increase its value.
Many collectors lack the time to organise and manage their collections themselves. Talbot Capes Fine Art Management alleviates all of the many tasks involved, removing the burden from the collector and allowing them to carry on focussing on what it is they truly love: collecting.
“Sarah is a fantastic exponent of the art world. Her attention to detail and her approach to research and client support has been exemplary, and it has been truly inspiring to work with her and to benefit from her knowledge and expertise.” – Private Client, London
222 Kensal Rd,
London,
W10 5BN
T: +44207 138 3556
