ABOUT

A logo with red corners meant to look like a camera viewfinder with the words FOCAL POINT in the center.

Focal Point Art

WHY TRUST FOCAL POINT ART?

We are regularly trained and tested in The Appraisal Foundation’s Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice

We are an Accredited Member of the International Society of Appraisers, a recognized professional regulatory body of qualified appraisers

We are professionally insured for Commercial General Liability and Errors & Omissions Liability

We have decades of experience handling and researching art objects.

We love art, just like you.

Focal Point Art is a one stop shop providing comprehensive appraisal and collection management consulting services. In addition to a broad field of expertise in fine arts, Focal Point Art is driving industry standards and directions by leading the field of photography and new media appraisals as a specialized practice.

Focal Point Art provides thoughtful and adaptive attention to the unique and detailed needs of each client coupled with rigorous research standards and clearly communicated valuation findings. We produce appraisals compliant with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), the recognized ethical and performance standards of The Appraisal Foundation for charitable donation, Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB), the Canadian Revenue Agency, estate planning and settlement, collateral loan, and insurance coverage and claim. We also provide USPAP-compliant appraisal review.

We recognize that appraisals are a part of larger collection and asset management processes. In the care and stewardship of your collection we work with trusted industry professionals including conservators, art handlers and preparators, framers, and photographers. We work collaboratively with legal, accounting, and insurance professionals as well as directly with individual and institutional clients.

Focal Point Art’s mission is to empower professional, institutional, and individual clients to navigate art markets and asset management with confidence by providing precise, reliable, and impartial appraisals and consultation.

Principal Appraiser, PhD, ISA AM

Elizabeth is the founder and principal of Focal Point Art. With over 15 years of experience in the arts sector, Elizabeth’s specialization in the art and photography market comes out of her passion for the field and her extensive practical and research experience.

Elizabeth is an Accredited Member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) and has been highly trained in the methodology, principles, ethics, and best practices of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) as established by The Appraisal Foundation.

In 2025 Elizabeth was the recipient of an ISA Education Foundation Gold Scholarship Award and in 2026 Elizabeth was awarded ‘Outstanding New Member’ by the International Society of Appraisers.

Elizabeth brings her extensive academic background in Canadian art histories and rigorous research methodology to her appraisal practice.  After receiving her PhD in 2016, Elizabeth has held academic faculty appointments at Queen’s University, University of Lethbridge, and OCAD University. Elizabeth has held a competitive SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship and a prestigious Jarislowsky Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to pursue her research on Canadian art and photography. In 2012 she was awarded a Lisette Model/Joseph G. Blum Fellowship in the History of Photography to pursue her research at the National Gallery of Canada. In 2015 her dissertation project was awarded the Michel de la Chenelière Prize by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Elizabeth has held board positions on the University Art Association of Canada and other not-for-profit organizations.

Elizabeth’s appraisal and collection development practice specializes in works from the 19th-century to the Ultra-Contemporary and across media including new and digital media. She is particularly interested in photography and advancing the photographic art market in Canada.

Elizabeth Anne Cavaliere

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