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Show The Park Record Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, December 26-29, 2020 B-3 Local art appraiser spurred by her passion for the craft COURTESY OF MELISSA SOLTESZ Melissa Soltesz, seen here giving an art tour, is now utilizing her 25 years in the art business to focus on her art advisory and appraisal services. Soltesz, who worked as a consultant for the Julie Nester Gallery in Park City and art director of Upfor Gallery in Portland, Oregon, calls herself an “art nerd” who wants to connect people with art. Soltesz works with her clients to keep tabs on collections SCOTT IWASAKI The Park Record Melissa Soltesz is passionate about fine art. The former art consultant for Julie Nester Gallery in Park City and former director of the Upfor Gallery in Portland, Oregon, is utilizing her 25-year experience in the art world to focus on her fine-art advising and appraising services. “I want to connect folks with artists I’ve been exposed to within the 25-year experience,” Soltesz said. “I also want to help people understand the value of the art they have in their homes.” Soltesz began professionally appraising art in 2007, after receiving her certificate in appraisal studies in fine and decorative arts in a partnership program between the University of California Irvine and the American Society of Appraisers. An appraisal is an unbiased 4opinion of value formed by accurately identifying the object and researching and analyzing the appropriate market, according to Soltesz. “More than 95% of the appraisals I do are for insurance purposes,” she said. “I looked at the growth of Park City and know the number of folks moving into the area are adjusting their insurance policies. So it kind of made sense for me to help them appraise their art.” When appraising art, Soltesz first makes sure the art falls into her area of expertise, which is modern and contemporary art. “I also focus on a variety of medium — painting, sculpture, photography, limited-edition prints,” she said. I get to go behind the scenes and see these treasures that are in private homes…” Melissa Soltesz, fine art appraiser and advisor After setting up a time with the art owners, Soltesz meets them at their homes to see their collections. “I go to them, because it doesn’t make sense to move artwork, because you just want to limit time in transit to forgo any damage to the pieces,” she said. “I get to go behind the scenes and see these treasures that are in private homes. Sometimes these pieces are museum-quality work, and the collections are rather large, not For information about Melissa Soltesz, call 435-901-0961, email solteszfineart@gmail. com or visit solteszfineart.com. only in scope, but in size as well.” Once Soltesz gains access to the works, she begins her inspection. “I basically do a recording of the piece,” she said. “I’ll take photographs and then gather all the pertinent information that includes the artists’ names, the titles and dimensions of the works, and years these pieces were created.” From there, the appraisal process becomes a hands-off scenario, which works well during the pandemic, Soltesz said with a laugh. “I go and do research and create an appraisal document for the client,” she said. While there is no state or federal licensing for personal property appraisers, Soltesz and other appraisers distinguish themselves through professional appraisal organizations, such as the American Society of Appraisers, and all qualified appraisers must adhere to a formal set of standards when putting together clients’ documents, she said. The documents include all of Soltesz’s research, as well as images of comparable pieces of art that she has come across. Please see Soltesz, B-4 TOY STORY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 33 34 35 BY RANDOLPH ROSS / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ 17 Randolph Ross is a retired high school principal and math teacher who lives in Manhattan. He has been making crosswords for The Times since 1991. The theme of this one arose out of some factoids about 111-Across and 33-Down that he gave a grandson. ‘‘It occurred to me that for this Christmas and Hanukkah, with so many grandparents and family not able to see the children from their lives in person, a crossword about toys might bring a smile.” — W.S. AC R O S S 1 Currency of Thailand 5 Kiss 9 U.S. city just south of Timpanogos Cave National Monument 13 Minus 17 Something to shoot for 19 One who hasn’t turned pro? 20 Strong adhesive 21 Indiana governor Holcomb 22 She debuted on March 9, 1959, in a blackand-white striped swimsuit 24 Virtual pet simulation game that won an Ig Nobel Prize for its Japanese creators 26 [Grrr!] 27 Glenn Miller classic 29 Purchases on 14 de febrero 31 Major talent grp. representing athletes and entertainers 32 Outpourings 36 Overplays, with ‘‘up’’ 39 Toy that was originally called ‘‘L’Écran Magique’’ (‘‘The Magic Screen’’) 44 ‘‘Lost ____ is never found again’’: Benjamin Franklin 45 Natl. Humor Month 46 Mild, light-colored cigar 47 Things found in wandering souls? Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 4,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). 48 Rhodes of the Rhodes scholarship 49 Photo finishes 51 U.S./U.K. divider: Abbr. 53 Loyally following 55 Flag carrier with an alphabetically ordered name 56 Trim 57 Game that got a big boost when Johnny Carson demonstrated it with Eva Gabor on ‘‘The Tonight Show’’ 59 Showy shrub 61 Schlepped 62 City in north-central Florida 63 Writer Arthur Conan ____ 64 Umpteen 65 Day to play with new toys 69 Food ____ (Thanksgiving feeling) 71 Like subway walls, often 73 Final authority 74 William ____, founder of Investor’s Business Daily 76 ____ area, part of the brain linked to speech production 78 Toy that was derived from a wallpaper cleaner 81 ‘‘I’m here to help’’ 82 Contented sigh 83 Phillies div. 85 ____ treatment 86 Harlem attraction, with ‘‘the’’ 87 Golf great Sam 89 Place for torn-off wrapping paper 91 Combined 93 Most common day to call in sick: Abbr. 94 Right away 95 Toy with 18 spoken phrases, including ‘‘I love you’’ and ‘‘May I have a cookie?’’ 97 Investment firm T. ____ Price 98 A halogen-containing salt 100 ____-Locka, Fla. 101 ‘‘My luck has to change at some point’’ 103 Politician parodied by Dana Carvey on 1990s ‘‘S.N.L.’’ 107 Performed a Latin ballroom dance 111 Puzzle toy solved in a record 3.47 seconds in 2018 114 Toy that astronauts brought to space to secure tools in zero gravity 117 Goes off 118 Grannies 119 Not on solid ground, say 120 Piece in the game go 121 Strong criticism 122 Chichi 123 Spring event 124 Rigging pole 6 Game with red and yellow cards 7 1904 World’s Fair city: Abbr. 8 Flint is a form of it 9 Moonfish 10 Sacking site in A.D. 410 11 Physical, e.g. 12 ‘‘Holy cow!’’ 13 Appointment that may be hard to change 14 Curve 15 Dr. Fauci’s agcy. 16 Poli ____ 18 Premiere arrival 20 Classic comics teenager with good manners 23 They can elevate art 25 Alley ____ 28 Org. with boosters 30 The beginning, in an idiom 33 By the end of 1996, one million of this toy was sold in a shopping frenzy 34 ‘‘South Pacific’’ hero 35 2014 film directed by Ava DuVernay 36 Goes after 37 Simian world 38 First toy to be advertised on TV 40 Open hostilities DOWN 41 St. Patrick’s home 1 Longest-serving Israeli 42 See the sights prime minister, 43 Feed lines to familiarly 46 Its box once read ‘‘A 2 Driver around sweet little game for Hollywood sweet little folks’’ 3 ‘‘And, touching ____, 48 Toy that sold more make blessed my cars in America in rude hand’’: Romeo 1991 than the Honda 4 Small snare drums Accord or Ford 5 Inaccurate information Taurus 18 22 19 20 23 24 26 27 29 36 37 30 38 39 45 32 41 42 50 51 52 57 64 53 54 58 59 66 72 78 83 87 79 112 104 105 91 92 93 97 101 106 113 114 118 119 121 122 123 70 Be less than ambitious 72 Subj. for some aspiring bilinguals 75 Sierra ____ 76 Operatic villains, often 77 Totaled 78 Legal assistant, briefly 79 Future J.D.’s hurdle 80 Not just available online 84 Biblical ending 86 Soon 102 107 117 50 Promoting peace 52 Actress Taylor of ‘‘Mystic Pizza’’ 54 ‘‘That was Zen, this is ____’’ (philosophy pun) 58 Smart 60 ‘‘The Tempest’’ king 62 Cleanliness fixation, e.g., in brief 63 Brit. military award 66 Little bits 67 Reason for glasses 68 Singer with a selftitled No. 1 album in 2002 86 100 103 75 81 96 99 70 74 90 95 98 60 69 85 89 94 68 80 84 88 67 73 77 55 63 65 82 44 48 62 71 43 47 61 111 28 40 56 76 25 31 46 49 21 115 108 109 110 116 88 With some downside 90 Shot from a doc 92 Statement of resistance 95 Big name in small planes 96 Took care of a tabby, say 97 Counters 99 Tik____ (app) 102 Ballpark figures 104 Lasting impression 105 Give up (on) 106 Shopping site with a ‘‘Toys’’ section 120 124 108 Straddling 109 Sight from the Sicilian town of Taormina 110 Textile worker 111 One whistling while working in the Garden? 112 Address with dots 113 Swimsuit part 115 Suffix suggested by the wiggling of one’s hand 116 Calf-eteria? |