Certificate of Authenticity

We have all seen news stories of artworks which have turned out to be counterfeit. I have seen many fake prints of Chagall, Picasso, Miro and others. The different types of fraudulent labeling of prints range from forged signatures to digital copies. The most common would be the unsigned original lithograph cut from a book and signed and numbered by an unscrupulous person. A Chicago dealer sold hundreds of these for years at auctions he held in his gallery. I recovered several thousand dollars for clients who came to me with their purchases to find out they had been duped. I would take the pieces back to the dealer and have him refund the buyers. He would suggest that we work together. He was able to continue this for years because he would always refund the money after obtaining the assurance that the buyers would not report him. People just wanted their money back and they did not want it known that they were duped.

When I see an artwork for sale or to be appraised that is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA), my immediate thought is that the piece is either overpriced or from an unreliable source.

Reputable dealers do not need to furnish COA’s as their reputation itself is the guarantee. Since there is no governmental or industry group licensing or registering COA’ s they are unenforceable and merely provide a sense of security for the art buyer who has not taken the time to investigate and learn about art collecting.

In the case of unique works such as paintings or drawings, the chain of custody of the work from the artist to the present owner is known as the provenance. This is critical, and a work without known provenance is valued simply for its pictorial quality rather than a part of the known artist’s work. It could be attributed to the famous artist but would be worth only a fraction of the value.

With prints, it is a little different. Provenance will affect the value if the print had been owned by a famous person or had been in a notable collection. Prints can be compared to other impressions of the same print or shown to an expert who knows what to look for. Also, certain prints have been known to have been knocked off by various processes. Scanning and laser printing can make remarkable duplications of prints, and the technology is only getting better. Counterfeiters still make mistakes that an expert can detect.

Another giveaway is when the same forty-year-old print appears in three different small-venue auctions in the same half year. Counterfeiters will try to monetize their creations with local auctions hoping to sell them under the radar.

There are many fakes on EBay right now that come with a COA.