Buying art should always be approached with great caution, and consumers must be doubly alert when faced with the relative anonymity of online auction sellers. But a measure of protection is offered by asking a few simple questions, and knowing what the right answers should be.
Before placing a bid on a work attributed to a non-living artist, always inquire on the availability of a valid Certificate of Authenticity — a document commonly referred to as a COA –, signed by a living, recognized expert on the artist, designating the specific work on the auction block. If the seller will not show you the actual certificate (some promise to include it in delivery after you buy the work…bad idea), he or she should at least provide the name and contact information of the signatory, allowing you to call and verify the claim.
Ask for a provenance, a paper trail showing the work’s commercial journey from the artist’s studio to the seller. A valid provenance can include gallery stickers, catalog listings, a photo of the artist with his work or a verifiable list of previous owners. The more a provenance is anecdotal, the less valuable it is. It should not sound like a colorful Gothic tale, but offer verifiable facts.
If you’re bidding on a work by a living artist, get his or her number and verify the authenticity. The provenance in this case is evident.
If, for any reason, the seller refuses to provide valid documentation for a painting or print, don’t buy it. It’s that simple. And your caution should be proportionate to the enthusiasm of the refusal:
Recently, a seller on a major online auction site described a Rouault print as carrying a “…guaranteed authentic signature”.
Like any cautious buyer, we asked the seller how he proposed to substantiate such a categorical statement. The request seemed reasonable enough. But the reply was quick and angry, containing an irate accusation of sarcasm; and the seller’s surprising statement that nothing could be unconditionally guaranteed, “…short of the artist stepping from the grave.” The reply was in direct contradiction to the posting’s unconditional guarantee, and a very good reason to stay well away.
Another transparent ploy is the spontaneous “discovery” of names and initials on the back of a work. A recent posting’s description stated, “The painting dates to the C16th/C17th, on the reverse of the painting is a handwritten description of the painting as well as the words ‘by Albrect Durer’.”
We asked what dating technique had been used, and whether any documentation could be provided. The seller responded that the painting simply “looked very old”, and added this interesting bit of information, “I did not even know who ‘Albrect Durer’ was until I searched the web tonight!”
We can safely assume that Albrecht Dürer never came within daubing distance of this painting. And it is anyone’s guess how the name – spelling mistakes and all – ended up scrawled on the back.
Yet another posting featured a work allegedly painted by Jackson Pollock. The online description carried what the seller called a provenance, the anecdote of how a “well known friend” of the artist had received the work as a gift, and how the seller had purchased the painting from “the actual curator of the collection.” That may well have been true, but all the players in the story were anonymous, and the seller refused to identify them.
An unverifiable claim is useless.
Also, when asked for a confirmation of authenticity, the same seller answered that he would not provide one because of “…the politics that riddle the art world.”
Less than honest sellers frequently use offense as the best defense, putting themselves above the rabble of so-called “unethical exploiters” poisoning the art world with their “dishonesty and rapaciousness”. They sometimes snigger at the mere mention of a Certificate of Authenticity, assuring you that most of them are “…not worth the paper they’re printed on.” And they are right, to a certain extent. A valid certificate of authenticity must conform to specific rules of ethics and common practice; most importantly, the signatory must be a living, recognized expert on the artist. Otherwise, it is indeed worthless. But that does not discredit the accepted process of authentication. It simply means that any old piece of paper, signed by anyone is simply not a Certificate of Authenticity.
There are several works by Dali, Picasso and Matisse currently for sale on most online auction sites, all of them offered with a Certificate of Authenticity. The so-called COAs are issued by an organization that appears unknown to the world of art, and signed by someone who has no known expertise at authenticating Dali, Picasso or Matisse; nor does the certificate carry any contact information for him. Repeated requests for contact information remain unanswered.
It is at best misleading to describe such a document as a Certificate of Authenticity.
