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Robin Starr

Details

Bonhams Skinner, Inc.
Vice President and Director of American & European Works of Art
Boston, MA
Toured In
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29

As Director of American & European Paintings & Prints, Robin Starr heads one of Skinner’s most important specialty departments. In this key role she oversees a staff of specialists who appraise and catalog prints, paintings, sculpture, and works on paper for a wide variety of Skinner clients, including arts and cultural institutions, estates, major collectors, and private individuals. She is also widely regarded as one of Skinner’s most vibrant and animated auctioneers, bringing an enthusiastic spirit to the podium at Skinner’s American & European Paintings & Prints auctions, held three times annually. Starr’s area of specialization is in American paintings and prints from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Outside her role at Skinner, Starr is a major contributor to the success of Boston’s thriving arts and culture community. She conducts numerous benefit appraisal days, lectures, and benefit auctions throughout the year. Starr has lectured in art history at various colleges throughout New England, including as a Lecturer in Art History at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Starr joined Skinner in September of 1987 as a research and cataloguing assistant in the American and European Paintings & Prints department. She received her M.A. in the History of Art, specializing in early medieval art, from Williams College. As an undergraduate, Starr combined an unusual double major in Art History and Physics through research in neutron activation autoradiography and its application in art historical research at Bates College.

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is an antiques appraisal event and television production; we do not buy or sell objects, and conducting any business with an appraiser at the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW event is strictly forbidden.

If you decide to do business with an appraiser who has appeared on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, please keep in mind these tips before consigning or selling an item:

  • Get more than one referral and check references
  • Get valuations of your item from more than once source
  • Compare options between different types of sellers, i.e., a dealer versus an auction house
  • If you are considering consigning an object for auction, be sure to inquire how the item will be priced, the size of the fee, and the expected amount of time the process may take. Find out what will happen if it doesn't sell.
  • Check the appraiser's professional associations (such as International Society of Appraisers, American Appraisers Association, National Auctioneers Association)
  • Consult an attorney before signing a contract
  • Whatever kind of transaction you decide to enter into, always get a detailed written receipt for your records

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW’s pool of experts are professionals with a wide range of experience in the antiques, fine art and collectibles community, and they are from a diverse background of auctioneers, dealers and appraisers.

All ROADSHOW appraisers are independent volunteers who donate their time and expertise to PBS and who pay their own expenses to be on the show. All business transactions are independent from ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.