Heidi Vaughan on Art Sales, Appraisals, and Houston's Collecting Scene

Houston gallerist, secondary market broker, and appraiser Heidi Vaughan discusses her multifaceted role at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art (HVFA), located on Lake Street at Colquitt. The gallery represents established artists like McKay Otto and Thedra Cullar-Ledford, and emerging painter Afi Lane, who creates portraits of Black figures in historical costumes. Vaughan also advises on collecting, valuation, authentication, and deaccessioning. She hosts the radio show "The Houston Hour" on 90.1 KPFT HD2 with historian Mister McKinney. Vaughan values art that is uplifting and transformative, citing McKay Otto's phosphorescent "GOLD" paintings as an example. She sells to collectors of all ages, including Jay Marks, who bought art at age 99. Vaughan sold a photography collection valued at $11 million last year. She uses Artsy for secondary market works by artists like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. As an appraiser, she considers image quality, materials, rarity, provenance, and artist notoriety, noting that Susie Kalil's book on Dorothy Hood raised Hood's drawing prices from $8,000 to $28,000. Vaughan collects Texas art and buys from every show. A solo exhibition by Vivian Wise is on view at HVFA through June 20, 2026.