Susan McDonough
AAA
Susan McDonough
AAA
Susan McDonough AAA is a Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America, admitted in the categories of Postwar, Contemporary & Emerging Art, Impressionist & Modern Art, American Art, Photography, and Prints.
She has deep and extensive experience appraising artwork at the highest levels of the art market ($10 million and above) for insurance, donation, and tax & estate planning purposes. She is an internationally recognized expert on appraisal methodology and lectures and publishes on the topic regularly. Susan enjoys working on complex assignments and serving as an expert witness in art-related disputes. She performs appraisal review work regularly for audit and assurance purposes.
Susan is a past member of the Appraisers Association of the Board of
Directors (2014–2021) and a recipient of the Association’s Regional Service Award in 2013. She is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor and currently teaches USPAP on behalf of the Appraisers Association as well as the Association’s Appraisal Writing Workshop. She previously served as an Adjunct Instructor at New York University's Appraisal Studies Program (2014–2017).
An experienced editor and published writer, she was the Managing Editor for the Appraiser Association’s 2024 publication Appraising Art: The Definitive Guide and co-authored the article on "Appraisal Review." Susan is recognized for her expertise in the valuation of site-specific and public art as well as the art of California. Her article “Public Art” was included in the 2024 Appraisers Association’s Definitive Guide and her article on “California Art” was published in the 2013 edition.
A graduate of Columbia University, New York, Susan has a B.A. in Art History and Latin American studies. She began her professional career at New York’s CDS Gallery and The Americas Society. She subsequently worked at Abbeville Press, Rizzoli, and HarperCollins prior to moving to San Francisco in 1998.
In San Francisco, Susan spent six years as the Director of Publications and Press Relations at Hackett-Freedman Gallery, where she commissioned catalogues on artists such as David Park, Louise Nevelson, and Patrick Heron, among many others. She later worked as an appraiser at Montgomery Gallery, one of the premier galleries for nineteenth and twentieth century European and American art in the United States. In 2009, she established McDonough Fine Art Appraisals LLC, which merged with Czudej LLC in 2023.
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