 As
I write this column, there’s an item up for sale on a top online
auction site whose title reads: "Fabulous auction painting,
signed Claude Monet, over 100 years old." The starting bid is
$15,000. It isn’t until you get to the fine print that the seller
suggests that, despite the signature, the work was undoubtedly done by
someone other than Monet.
It reminds me of a situation that
occurred when I was once at a major, reputable auction house in New
York City. There was also a "Matisse" being prepared for
auction, but when I looked at the signature, it was quite clear that
this wasn’t Henri Matisse’s work.
I pointed it out to one of the house’s
specialists. He agreed the signature was suspicious, but it still went
up for auction. Why were they selling it? Auction houses compete with
each other. To sell this particular estate, they may have had to agree
to sell all of the art, authentic or not.
Art can be acquired through many
different means. Forgeries and misrepresentations can and do occur in
virtually all venues, but there are steps you can take to protect
yourself and your art investment dollars.
I am leery about purchasing art via the
Internet. There is too much opportunity for forgeries and
misrepresentations. There is no incentive for someone with an
authentic work of art, particularly from an artist in high demand, to
be selling it off as a great deal. If the work is authentic and
valuable, it will be priced accordingly and command the asking price.
Retail collectors can acquire art
through auction houses, but it also requires buyers to be quite aware.
Before bidding, find out if the auction house guarantees authenticity.
Many do not. While anyone can appraise a work of art, not everyone can
or will authenticate it.
If you are working with a gallery, ask
how it establishes the authenticity of its represented works. Are
there experts and researchers on staff who can verify the work through
published catalogues and unique characteristics of the artist? At my
gallery we guarantee authenticity and have a refund policy in place
should a work later be not as represented.
That isn’t to say that wonderful,
authentic art can’t fit into your budget. Art moves in and out of
fashion, and the trend is toward contemporary work right now. If you
can’t live without a well-known artist in your collection, you might
just find an original etching from Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lautrec,
Whistler or Camille Pissarro surprisingly affordable.
David Barnett is an artist, art dealer
and the owner of the oldest Wisconsin art gallery, the David Barnett
Gallery in Milwaukee.
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