Emily Baer, a proud “MillBilly,” has found her way back home to offer Bay Area residents an exceptional level of service and plethora of knowledge as an appraiser of fine and decorative art, with MLE Appraisals. Baer’s vocational journey began in the ’90s when she discovered her love for antiques while visiting garage sales and museums (like the de Young Museum) in San Francisco and Marin. After graduating with a double major in art history (with a concentration in material culture and Jewish studies), a professor recommended that she intern at Christie’s Auction House.
Late 18th century south German chest.
At Christie’s, Baer’s passion and rapidly evolving knowledge collided. That initial collision flourished into a 20-year career led by very intentional decisions, sprinkled with a touch of serendipity and fate. Baer interned her way through the European furniture department and ended up running the auction estimates department at Christie’s in Rockefeller Plaza.
19th century Baccarat crystal cave a liqueur.
After caring for her ill father back in Mill Valley until his passing in 2008, she was drawn back to New York. She then attended NYU, where she studied Jewish art and visual culture and received her Appraisers Certificate. While in New York she worked for Roland Auctions New York, Tepper Galleries Inc., and a number of smaller regional auction houses in the capacity of appraiser, generalist and cataloguer while conducting appraisals for various clients around the NYC metro area.
Baer was homesick and yearning to get back to the Bay Area when fate stepped in. There was an opening in San Francisco requiring her exact qualifications. Lucky for us, Baer decided in 2019 that it was time to harness all that knowledge and put it into her own business, MLE Appraisals.
