Authenticating paintings, Professional Art Authentication - Painting Authentication - Signature Authentication - Print Authentication - Drawing Authentication - Picasso authentication - old master authentication - Art Forgery - Art Fakes - Art Authenticity - Forgery - Art Experts & Certificate of Authenticity How to authenticate art work |
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| Art Authentication and Art Authenticity issues | artfake.net© |
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Art authentication and the authentication of fine art. Why exactly is art authentication necessary? |
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The need for the authentication of fine art, a drawing, print or painting, is abundantly obvious in a world that is littered with fakes & art fraud. You will have seen this illustrated only too well in the history of art fakes and the stories of the art fakers which has been published on this web site previously. Artfake.net |
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Today, an artwork's authenticity and art authentication has never been more important, particularly if you are investing in art as a collector or wish to sell an art work such as a painting, print or drawing that you have inherited or have discovered at auction, car boot or yard sale. The work of art may have questions to answer about its previous history or prior ownership particularly if it has not been authenticated or harbors a doubt surrounding its authenticity and true origins.
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Remember: Unless your art work, be it a painting, drawing or a print, has sound and absolute provenance, (that's its own unique and traceable history) it is virtually unsellable. No one in their right mind will absolutely trust its authenticity unless it has fully fledged authentication credentials. Frankly, in respect of any art authentication, unless you have the security of a hugely qualified written opinion, or the original paperwork directly relating to the work of art's absolute authenticity (such as bill of sale or a letter from the artist or gallery representing the artist when historically it was first sold,) you are in a hole right from the start. It's now down to you to prove that the work of art is truly authentic. So you clearly must turn to an art expert whose specialism is just that, the authentication of and authenticating fine art. Not just an art appraiser. Art authentication and art appraisals are entirely different things. |
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*WARNING* Certificates of Authenticity
A vague Certificate of Authenticity which offers up a non expert or a non internationally recognised opinion by an absolute expert on the particular artist & who is the issuer of the Certificate of Authenticity, is a certificate of authenticity without any credibility. It's a certificate of authenticity without any credential, truth or qualification and it is utterly worthless. |
Bogus Canadian Certificate of Authenticity |
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Art experts and art appraisers abound the world over, both the self professed sort and the highly academically qualified and internationally recognised. But only a very few of them have either the status of international recognition, the educational qualification or even some, the actual ability and practical knowhow to underwrite and support an acceptable authentication attribution of a work of art or to support any level of certainty when it comes to the absolute issues concerning authenticity & authentication.
Art authentication experts and art appraisers are entirely different species both by breed and deed. |
Art appraisers cannot authenticate art unless they are recognised as 'THE' ultimate expert on the artist in question. And don't believe them if they claim they can and do. What they can do though is offer a personal opinion of authenticity. But their personal opinion of authenticity is just an opinion. It may count for nothing internationally. If that is strong enough for you, that is your decision and your perogative but if you need more then be sure their opinion is acceptable nationally, internationally and at all levels.
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Only those individual art experts and authenticators who intimately understand the artist, for example, have written about and have been published, have curated art exhibitions and have massive experience of the artist and his work personally, can generate sufficient academic agreement from the art world itself to uphold or determine a work of art's authenticity. This includes the total support and acceptance of authentication from museums and galleries and the major auction houses such as Christies, Sotheby's, Bonhams, Tajan, Lempertz, the Dorotheum etc. as those who are are trusted and qualified to have the credentials to authenticate a work of art and are in any position what so ever to comment upon issues of legitimacy and particularly authentication, absolutely. That's irrespective of what many art appraisers and self professed experts will have you believe.
The Worlds leading Art Authentication Experts:
There are many expert individuals and scholars who are 'absolutely' recognised as 'the' specific expert and authority on the lives and works of major artists world wide. Oftentimes they are the artists closest living family members, the artists heirs, siblings or relatives, who intimately know or knew the artist, therefore being judges of the true ability to comment on his hand, legitimacy and his work, but this to an expert level which is internationally recognised and with many of these individuals holding the legal right to make judgements on art authenticity and authentication issues. Various international committees, panels, boards, scholars, writers and administrative groups, also administer and pronounce upon on art authentication and the attribution of works of art which claim to be by the principal artists and big names in art.
Take Picasso for instance. It is only to those accredited and accepted Picasso art experts and only to them in the final analysis, that we can turn for authentication and an absolute trustworthy and acceptable attribution. But even then, opinion alone to back up a case, may not be enough to demonstrate authenticity to that individual art expert or body of art experts. Academic research and archival study of the highest order is essential and in many cases, forensic art investigations and analysis through the scientific identification of the artist materials used, the paint pigments, paper, the canvas or grounds is necessary in art authentication investigations. Science now plays a vital role in finding the truth in the authentication of art and sometimes completely overturns the previous academic and stylistic opinions of the art world's experts! In art authentication, stylistic comparative of the art work is simply not enough and those who claim that they conduct stylistic comparative studies must be of the order of personal excellence and stature as an 'expert on that artist' as has previously discussed and not just an art authentication generalist!
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Fair Warnings.
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Just because a painting is signed Picasso, doesn't mean it's by Picasso!
Signatures are and can be easily forged or faked or more commonly, 'added' to a picture, print, drawing or painting and there are hundreds if not thousands of Picasso like fakes that have been created bearing an artists name such as our old friend the great artist Picasso. |
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Remember too: Just because a painting is signed Picasso and the owner tells you a story about how his grandfather met Picasso and Picasso gave him the picture in a bar in Paris! Don't believe it till it's absolutely proven and authenticated. The story is actually just a story and flawed apart from what your heart says you want to believe. The story itself proves absolutely nothing. It has to be proveable.
And, just because a painting is signed with name Picasso and you've seen one similar on the Antique Roadshow to yours too, please use you head and not your heart. Ask yourself: What's the chance of your Picasso being 'the' Picasso that was actually on the Antiques Roadshow? Nil.
And finally, just because a painting is signed Picasso and the enthusiastic art seller on Ebay who is probably more of a car boot opportunist or 'yard sailer' from somewhere you've never heard of and definitely hiding behind his 'handle', openly claims that he is ".....not an art expert and doesn't know if it's a print or a drawing!"
Use your head again and not just your heart.
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If you really do have serious misgivings or concerns about your artworks authenticity, or need to know if your painting or drawing is authentic or not, do the sensible thing and take the expert advice of an expert fine art consultant who can conduct a thorough independant investigation of your art work. An art expert with international status, the facilities for conducting forensic art analysis and study and the capacity and experience to effectively assist you with authenticating art. Far too many societies & associations exist, particularly in the United States which simply can be joined by annual fee or the attendance of a fee payable course, without justifiable reference to years of experience and expertise in the field and behind which art appraisers and some authenticators can hide. Experience, expertise and qualification and not just the membership of an association or club is paramount. Some Useful Links: |
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Authentication Experts in the UK Interested in Picasso Authentication? Interested in Dali Authentication? Just interested in the Authentication of Fine Art?
FIND ART AUTHENTICATION EXPERTS New England: Maine, Massachusetts Vermont, Rhode Island & New Hampshire Texas art authentication experts Colorado art authentication experts
ArtFake.net: This is a non profit web site which supports one of the worlds leading Fine Art Consultancies specialising in forensic and academic investigations into the authentication and attribution of Fine Art and Antiques.
We are indebted to them for their work and input.
COPYRIGHT ArtFake.net 2008 |
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