The Art World Navigator: Larissa Wild
“it all really comes down to answering the question: ‘What problems can art solve in various arenas, or how can it be part of creating an ideal future in a culture or community.’”
5 Questions with Larissa Wild
Founder, Larissa Wild FIne Art Consulting; Art Appraiser; Host of The Art Elevator Podcast
Vail, Colorado
Larissa Wild is a highly qualified and experienced professional in the field of fine art consulting and appraising. She is the President and Founder of Larissa Wild Fine Art Consulting, LLC, a company she established in 2016, when she decided that "regular" jobs are overrated. Larissa has also been the host and founder of The Art Elevator Podcast since 2021.
Larissa has served in various leadership roles in the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). She was a Director on the ISA Board of Directors from 2020 to 2021 and the Chair of the ISA Fine Art Committee in 2019-2020. She also served as the Chair of the ISA Awards Committee in 2018.
Larissa has a Private Client Services Designation and is a Certified Member of the International Society of Appraisers with a Fine Art Designation. She has a Certificate in Art Market Economics from Christie's Education and is a member of ArtTable, a professional organization that promotes women's leadership in the visual arts because, let's face it, the art world could use a little more girl power.
Larissa has completed the qualifying and continuing education requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) since 2016. She exceeds the Personal Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria adopted by the Appraisal Foundation's Appraiser Qualification Board (AQB). She has successfully completed qualifying examinations in various appraisal-related fields, including Appraisal Valuation Theory, Market Research and Analysis, Appraisal Ethics, Methodology, Identification and Authentication, Federal Regulations and Functions, Legal Issues, and Narrative Report Writing Standards.
Larissa has extensive experience in the art world, having worked as an art consultant for a number of galleries in the Vail region of Colorado, USA. She has volunteered as a Museum Assistant for the Australian Center for Photography and a Collection Assistant for the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia, and worked with many high net worth individuals in building, managing and appraising art collections in her current business. She holds a B.A. in Fine Art from the National Art School in Sydney, Australia, and has taken graduate courses in Canberra University Architectural School and Historic Preservation at Colorado Mountain College.
1. Tell me about The Art Elevator… why did you create this initiative?
There are so many gaps in [art] education for the general public — if they want to engage in anything to do with art, they can be quite vulnerable as consumers. I wanted to capture all the amazing knowledge from passionate and dedicated professionals in the art world that people don’t often get to hear from, in order to allow the public access to lifetimes of knowledge to help them navigate the notoriously opaque art world with confidence.
2. You recently launched the Collector’s Club program, congratulations! What is the concept and goal?
Collector’s Club is a virtual collecting experience. The concept was to create a platform where people can explore collecting art in a risk-free environment. It is risk free financially: the collecting experience is virtual. And it is judgment free as well: we encourage people to explore freely based on what speaks to them.
Through this virtual collecting experience, we introduce elements of understanding the art market, the importance of provenance (an art work’s ownership history), how to develop connoisseurship, how to navigate the excess of the art out there to find meaning, and essentially to learn how to collect art with passion and confidence.
Members have fun exploring art that speaks to them, and we introduce the guardrails; if you were to take this collecting out into the real world, you would be armed with the know-how to not be taken for a ride.
3. You’ve said, “Transparency and truth can make access to the art world a whole lot less intimidating and a whole lot more exciting.” AMEN! Could you share a first-hand experience of a shift you’ve seen take place once you demystified this field and process to a client?
I had a client that wanted to create an art collection that was of the same quality as the architecture and design of the space. They were struggling to make decisions; they were considering works at a high price point, but the interior designer working with them did not provide any real information on the artists’ market.
The designer did not help distinguish if work had resale potential or if it was work they would be buying for the intrinsic emotional and aesthetic value. I find that when clients understand the difference between the two — resale/asset value and emotional connection/enjoyment — they can make the most informed decisions. This is information you don’t usually get from a gallery, artist, interior designer or online art platforms. Sometimes that’s because they don’t know, and sometimes it is because this information is not part of their sales strategy. Once the client knew this information, the buying experience for them was enjoyable.
4. You and I talk about holistic cultural patronage, and the work involved in cultivating advocates who fuel the entire ecosystem through collecting AND philanthropy — to institutions, local collectives, and through direct artist support. In your opinion, what new arts funding strategies are required to keep our sector alive?
I would see a team approach with a patron collaborating with artists, a project manager, and the community to solve problems or enhance a situation. I would envision art being used as a tool for creative problem solving and building connections in a community, which would position it with a compelling reason for continued support. There needs to be a vision, a pathway and an outcome that is tangible.
It’s important to emphasize that art is a tool for humanity, not just for those who can afford it. It’s essential to creating meaning, understanding identity, expressing emotion and nurturing connection with other human beings. And this is just the start of the benefits art brings to society.
5. Year after year, arts giving remains stagnant at ~4% of overall (private) charitable giving. Next era donors — those inheriting the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history and new wealth creators — are turning away from the arts to support areas they see as greater drivers of social progress. How can the sector best make its case for relevance among rising philanthropic and investing leaders?
Relevance… If there is no compelling reason, people won’t understand why it matters, and when they feel alienated from some kind of exclusive “club”, they are going to disconnect. The traditional model of institutional donating (to museums, for example) has alienated many through a curation of art that people don’t understand or connect to. Why would anyone donate to a cause they don’t feel connected to?
Now, because there are so many layers and levels of how art interacts with society, it would need to be a multifaceted approach. I feel that the best case can be made through experiential means that connect with the intended audience, and then having relevant markers to track the success of the intended benefits, that is, the goal of the art patronage.
For example: If we are talking about community art endeavors for youth, it has to either solve a problem, or establish an ideal present and future for youth…
If we are talking about investing in upcoming artists, their work has to either solve a problem or establish an ideal present and future for artists…
If we are talking about donating to a museum, the art and programmes they offer have to either solve a problem, or establish a pathway to an ideal present and future for the museum…
It all really comes down to answering the question: What problems can art solve in various arenas, or how can it be part of creating an ideal future in a culture or community?
The Path Forward interview series, an initiative of MCW Projects LLC, investigates how cultural and philanthropic leaders are re-envisioning the future.