Katherine Thatcher

Partially just being a nerd at heart! Truly. Plus a work ethic from having grown up with lots of chores. I attribute much of my success to hard work, persistence, curiosity, and continuous learning. Early in my career, I understood that credibility had to be earned, so I pursued internships, education, professional training, and as much hands-on experience as I could find. I tried to learn something from every position and every assignment rather than thinking only about what the next title would be.

I also think adaptability has been very important. My career has not followed a perfectly straight line. Art history led to museum work, appraisal, consulting, jewelry design, writing, and speaking. At different times, what might initially have looked like a detour ultimately added another layer of knowledge or experience that became useful later.

Persistence matters as well. There are periods in almost every career when things do not progress as quickly or easily as you would like. Being willing to keep working, keep learning, and change direction when necessary has served me well.

Perhaps one of the things I have learned most recently is to trust the judgment that comes from experience. After more than 30 years, you realize that expertise is not simply what you learned in school. It is the accumulation of thousands of objects examined, clients advised, markets studied, problems solved, mistakes avoided, and unusual situations encountered along the way.

Some of the most valuable advice I received came relatively late in my career: recognize the value of your time and expertise—and stop undercharging for it. I think women in particular tend to do this.

I eventually realized that clients are not simply paying for the hours I spend on an assignment. They are benefiting from more than 30 years of specialized knowledge and experience—the ability to recognize what matters, know where to research, identify potential problems, and reach an informed conclusion efficiently. Particularly as women, I think we can fall into the trap of believing we need one more credential or one more year of experience before we are entitled to value what we know.

I have also had to learn that not everything has to be perfect. I naturally lean toward perfectionism and can easily do far more than an assignment actually requires. Over time, I have learned to be a little easier on myself—to recognize when the work is excellent and complete rather than continuing to refine it simply because I can.

Learning both to value my expertise and to value my time has been an important part and has actually freed up more time for hobbies and interests, which also enriches my life.

I strongly encourage young women entering the arts to get as much real-world experience as possible early in their careers. Internships can be extraordinarily valuable because they put you in rooms, museums, auction houses, galleries, collections, and professional situations that cannot be replicated in a classroom. When financially feasible, I would choose an internship that provides exceptional experience and mentorship over a position that pays slightly more but teaches very little.

I also believe in pursuing education, training, certifications, and credentials even when you cannot immediately see how you will use them. Every additional area of knowledge makes you more versatile, and you have no idea which skill may become important ten or twenty years later.

Work extremely hard during your first decade after school. Ask questions. Volunteer for assignments. Look at as many objects as possible. Go to auction previews, museums, galleries, exhibitions, and lectures. Develop relationships with people who know more than you do, and never assume that your education is finished simply because you have earned a degree.

At the same time, do not become overly concerned if your career is not completely linear. Mine certainly was not. A career can meander and still have a very clear destination when you continue accumulating knowledge and experience along the way. Sometimes the unexpected turns are what ultimately distinguish you from everyone else.

One of the challenges I experienced entering the high-end arts industry was that many people had family connections and established networks that helped them obtain opportunities. I did not have those same connections, so I had to work harder to establish myself and demonstrate my expertise.

A continuing challenge in the art and appraisal world is the difference between market reality and people's expectations of value. Markets change, tastes change, and values do not always move upward. Owners can understandably become emotionally attached to an earlier valuation or to what they believe something should be worth.

I experienced that very dramatically during the 2007–2008 economic downturn, when rapidly changing markets made some clients reluctant to accept valuations that were lower than what they had seen several years earlier. That period taught me an important lesson: an appraiser's responsibility is to the evidence, even when the answer is not necessarily the one a client hoped to hear.

At the same time, I think we are in a period of tremendous opportunity. There is more information available to researchers and collectors than ever before. Auction databases, online archives, digitized museum collections, and international marketplaces have transformed the amount of material we can access. But having more information does not necessarily mean knowing how to interpret it. In some ways, that makes experience and professional judgment even more important.

I also see opportunity in being willing to evolve. The 2007–2008 downturn ultimately pushed me to step away from appraisal for a period and explore jewelry design and entrepreneurship. What began as a response to a difficult market developed into an entirely new part of my career.

That experience changed the way I look at challenges. A disruption can close one door, but it can also force you to notice another opportunity you might otherwise never have considered.

Integrity, curiosity, independence, hard work, and continued learning are probably the values that have shaped both my professional and personal life most strongly.

Professionally, integrity comes first. An appraisal or recommendation has to be based on the evidence and on what I genuinely believe to be correct, whether or not that is the answer someone hoped to receive. Discretion and trust are equally important when you are working inside people's homes, with family estates, valuable collections, and sometimes very personal belongings.

Curiosity has probably been the common denominator in almost everything I have done. I genuinely like learning—about an unfamiliar object, a new artist, a period of history, a different culture, or a place I have never visited. I never want to reach the point where I think I already know enough.

Independence is also important to me. I have been willing to create a career that did not necessarily fit a conventional model and to change direction when something new interested me or circumstances changed.

In my personal life, I place tremendous value on experiences, relationships, exploration, and giving back. I believe life should continue expanding rather than becoming smaller as we get older. There should always be another place to see, another subject to learn about, another skill to develop, and another way to contribute something useful.

For me, success has never been simply about accumulating professional accomplishments. It is having the freedom to remain curious, continue learning, do meaningful work, and build a life that leaves room for the people, places, animals, and causes that matter to me.