Mission & History
Mission
The mission of the Appraisers Association of America is to develop and promote standards of excellence in the profession of appraising through education and the application of the highest form of professional practice, which results in enhancing the visibility and standing of appraisers within the private and professional communities in which they serve.
History
Founded in 1949, the Appraisers Association of America, Inc. is the oldest non-profit professional association of personal property appraisers. Over the years, the appraisal profession has adapted to the fast-paced developments within the arts, legal, and financial communities as well as to the changing needs of private and corporate collectors. The Appraisers Association of America has been a leader in the field by ensuring that our members continue to be a consistently trustworthy source known for the highest standards of ethics, conduct and professionalism.
Early on, the members met monthly in New York at what was then the Belmont Plaza Hotel and hand-typed minutes from a meeting in December 1959 provide insight into the issues and concerns of the members at the time: proceeds from the Antique Show Committee were to benefit the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research; Articles III and IV were amended to accommodate changes in the responsibilities of various officers; there were deposits of $1,521.50 that month to the Chemical Corn Bank; and six new applicants were admitted as members. By November 1963, the members were voting to create a Membership Directory, and it was announced that the organization would begin to sponsor courses in the local universities, with members “participating in the teaching of such courses.” Minutes from each meeting were published for distribution to the membership for many years in “The Wise Old Owl,” the newsletter of the Association, which would also announce each forthcoming meeting. The appraisal profession is now just that—a profession and not a trade—with rewards and demands that probably far exceed what the membership could have originally imagined. The Appraisers Association of America has contributed significantly to a wide variety of collaborations with the Internal Revenue Service, The Appraisal Foundation and The Getty Institute, with each project yielding yet another important step in codifying numerous aspects of the appraisal profession.
In 1983, the Appraisers Association of America created The Appraisal Institute of America, a non-profit educational organization, which functions as the educational foundation for our educational programs. Since then, the annual national conference and the monthly lecture series were both established. And now the organization is preparing to take another important step with the launching of CASP, the Comprehensive Appraisal Studies Program.
The Appraisers Association of America continues to serve the arts, legal, and financial communities and private and corporate collectors, with our members providing appraisals of fine art, decorative arts, jewelry, and household contents to the highest industry standards.