Catherine Baron

Metalwork & Sculpture

Updated: 7.17.09

Catherine Baron is an accomplished art historian, appraiser, auctioneer, and business owner. A person of encyclopedic learning, she has found her calling in the appraisal and estate sale business. She works to satisfy her fierce love of art and history, and hopes that the public will discover that same in itself.

Catherine has been professionally appraising antiques and personal property since 1995, and appreciating them for far longer. Her specialty is silver, but she is a generalist in that a good time may be found in the excavation of a dusty attic. A native of Tucson, Arizona, she has lived in numerous cities in the United States and abroad. Catherine's travels and years living in Europe ignited an appreciation for the elegance of the old world and those accruements that define it. She earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Kansas and her master of arts in classic art history from the University of Memphis. This marriage of science and beauty is reflected in her entire philosophy.

She is an associate member of the American Society of Appraisers and has served as curator and advisor to museums across the country. Catherine worked for seven years in that capacity with the Historic Properties division for the Memphis Museum System. It was during that time that she began doing appraisals of fine art and antiques for the museum and for private clients. She returned to her native Tucson in 2001 to serve as the collection manager for the Arizona Historical Society. She has been published in selected museum and fine-art publications, writing on art, antiques, and ancient coinage, and has edited the works of other distinguished authors. She is an accomplished speaker and has spoken on numerous topics of antique lore. In 2003 she founded Baron Ventures, Inc., which does business as Catherine's Estates & Appraisals and as the auctioning company Baron Ventures Auctioneering. As a member of the National Association of Auctioneers, Catherine specializes in Benefit and Art events.

Catherine is at home in Tucson, Arizona, and the warmth of the desert is a part of her. She enjoys travel, writing, antiques, art, laughter ... and above all the fine art of good conversation.