A curator's eye. A trusted advisor
for life.
Fine art advisory for private collectors, family offices, and estates — built on curatorial experience at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
CREDENTIAL
Accredited Member,
Appraisers Association of America
COMPLIANCE
USPAP Compliant
SPECIALTY
Postwar & Contemporary
A practice built on curatorial foundations
BACKGROUND
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Associate Curator of Contemporary Art — Washington, D.C.
Whitney Museum of American Art
Prints & Drawings — New York
Private Collection
Collection Curator & Advisor — Milwaukee
Private Collection
Collection Curator & Advisor — Boston
Working for the client
PHILOSOPHY
Stacey Schmidt is an advisor, not a dealer. She maintains no inventory and has no works to sell.
Her fees are transparent and agreed with clients in advance. Every recommendation — what to acquire, conserve, sell, and when — is made in the interest of the client and the collection.
Engagements range from single projects to ongoing collection management, and many continue for years.
SERVICES
Advisory services
Ongoing collection management, acquisitions, estate planning support, appraisal, and conservation oversight — for private collections, family offices, and estates.
Collection Stewardship
Ongoing management of private collections: comprehensive inventory and documentation, condition monitoring, conservation coordination, insurance review, and long-term planning. Collections are catalogued and managed on a dedicated collection-management platform, giving clients complete, current documentation of their holdings.
ACQUISiTION ADVISORY
ESTATE AND LEGACY PLANNING
Guidance on acquisitions across galleries, auctions, and private channels — provenance research, condition and authenticity review, market analysis, and negotiation. Stacey represents the client throughout.
Collaboration with estate attorneys, financial advisors, and family offices on the valuation, documentation, and disposition of art assets — whether works remain in the family, are gifted to institutions, or are sold.
FINE ART APPRAISAL
conservation oversight
INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT
USPAP-compliant appraisals for insurance, estate and gift tax, charitable donation, and equitable distribution purposes. For appraisal services, visit Schmidt Fine Art Appraisals.
Coordination and oversight of conservation work — identifying qualified conservators, managing treatment, and ensuring proper documentation, including major projects for postwar and contemporary sculpture.
Thoughtfully developed collections often enter into dialogue with museums and cultural organizations. Stacey advises collectors on institutional loans, exhibition opportunities, and legacy planning — drawing on longstanding relationships across the museum world to position collections within broader cultural frameworks.
ABOUT
Meet Stacey Schmidt
Stacey Schmidt is a fine art appraiser and advisor specializing in Postwar and Contemporary Art. Her professional background includes curatorial positions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and advisory roles for private collectors nationally.
She founded Schmidt Art Advisory to bring that experience to private collections, family offices, and estates.
She holds an MA in Art History from New York University and is an Associate Candidate, Appraisers Association of America, conducting all appraisals in compliance with USPAP.
Based in Milwaukee. Serving clients nationally.
MA in Art History, New York University
BA in Art History, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
accredited member, Appraisers Association of America
USPAP Compliant
"
Only 24% of collectors have a long-term plan for their collection — and for most, record-keeping is still done by hand.
— DELOITTE ART & FINANCE REPORT
Let's connect
STACEY SCHMIDT, Fine Art Advisor