With forest fires, floods and other disasters making news headlines, one group of people who wonder how they can reduce the risk of losing their possessions to a calamity are collectors of fine art.

The problem is sufficiently urgent that to be fun for the client,” she said. “We are art historians dealing with the nuts and bolts of art investing.”

Citi Wealth can talk with authority on art – its provenance, the artist, where an artwork is from, its previous ownership, unusual characteristics, where it sits within a genre, and other attributes.

Bickar also works with clients in areas such as philanthropy, gifting and transferring works of art, in collaboration with Citi Wealth’s Philanthropic Advisory group, led by Karen Kardos.

With regard to philanthropy, gifting artworks to a gallery is not always straightforward, given that a gallery may lack the necessary space and resources. 

Bickar spelled out a series of steps that collectors should take to remove some of the heartburn if there is a fire or other threat: Catalogue a collection, back up records and digitise documentation; keep hard copies in a safe place; review insurance values and ensure that schedules and insured locations are up to date; review how and where a collection is on display; consider installing temperature, humidity, water and movement monitoring sensors with alert capabilities, especially for locations that are often vacant; and prepare a written evacuation plan, prioritising items for removal.

As this news service has reported, the world of fine art is an important topic for many HNW and ultra-HNW individuals; it is also a barometer of their values and appetite for risk. A number of firms, such as UBS, JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank provide specialist art advice and specialist lending offerings. According to the Deloitte & Art Tactic – Art & Finance Report 2023, it found that 87 per cent of family offices have an interest in physical ownership of art, but they are also looking at alternative art ownership structures such as art and culture-related social impact investments (37 per cent) and fractional ownership (30 per cent).