The Art Buyers Guide #1
3 things any legitimate art sale should include.
Unfortunately this post is inspired by a recent experience we had with a client. We went to visit them in their home city to curate their collection. Our client was really looking forward to introducing us to their local art dealer who had befriended them and sold them 2 signed prints, 1 Dali, 1 Picasso. Unfortunately both were fake and obviously so. This sale would have been easily preventable by following the steps outlined in this post so we thought you’d like to know how to avoid this situation yourself!
An open and curious mindset
A good Google search
Some common sense
The first thing to keep in mind is that nothing which is meant for you will pass you by. As esoteric as that sounds, it should be considered true if even for the purpose of this particular transaction. This is because most of the art world creates it’s value through the concept of scarcity. Making things seem rare or hard to obtain is a great sales tactic, which plays on you getting emotionally attached to the outcome and creating a short time frame in which to ‘force’ a decision.
There will always be someone else ‘on their way’ to collect it. Personally I would question the morals of a business happy to sell me something they had promised to some poor sucker on the phone! (red flag)
Ask lots of questions and listen for BS. You can tell the difference between someone who knows and understands what they are looking at vs someone who is just naming what they can see. Trust your gut! If it doesn’t feel right, it isn't.
Things you want to know are:
Where they got it from - If they got it directly from the artist it will sometimes come with a certificate of authenticity from the artist themselves. Don’t forget to ask for it. If they bought it on the secondary market you really want to know where it came from!
Provenance - The art world is always talking about provenance but what is it? It can be thought of as a trail or chain of custody clearly marked by known entities. That essentially means we know where it’s been so we’re fine to interact safely with it.
An example of provenance could look like this:
Item 1 was purchased from the artist by a Texas corporation in 1977
Item 1 was sold at auction (auction house listed and price achieved) 1993
Item 1 was purchased from the collection of Mrs Someone by Inconspicuous Art Gallery 2022.
This should all be evidenced by paperwork, auction listing history/ archives, stickers, stamps, or paperwork on the back or edge of the frame.
This could come in all shapes and sizes, which Is why you should maintain an open and curious mindset during a purchase. If you ask for the provenance and the art dealer looks at you strangely, walk out. If you ask and they understand you but don’t have an answer, walk out. If they have an answer they threw out after visiting the manager and it includes just one name such as, ‘the collection of mr smith’, keep asking questions about before that. Ask about how they authenticate their work? Does anyone check it for them? If not, they should have a reasonable answer why not, right? No reasonable answer, walk out. You get it now! If it seems off, it probably is.
Ok I think you’ve got the mindset covered! Let’s move on to a good Google search.
Now, I know there are other search engines available; I’m using the term generically here so pick your search engine and start your prowl through the internet searching for the title of the art work you want to buy. Look at as many sources of information on the piece of art as possible in 5 minutes.
Compare:
Pricing (like for like)
The details (edition size, materials, printer chop mark, publisher, dates, signature, framed)
Shipping costs
Visual representation of the work (how are they the same or different)
If there is a widely known issue with a title, the internet will probably tell you about it. The more information you can find the better it is. If you can’t find anything online about it, that is probably because it is a unique work by a moderately unknown artist!
If however, you search for a work by a well known artist such as Henri Matisse and nothing comes up. That is most likely a bad sign. Be careful of how many people ‘knew’ the artist and were given this one off work by his nephew’s cousin… In the absence of legitimacy there will be advocacy for circumstantial evidence such as who they know, or who they were in the past, or how much money they ‘have’. This is not provenance.
Provenance. It’s new or you know where it came from. anything less is a risk.
The common sense aspect is woven in. Ask your art dealer how much the gallery stands behind the art they are going to sell you. If there is a restrictive return policy or the gallery doesn’t offer any guarantee of authenticity backed by a refund (like we do), then you should ask why not? The art world can be designed around smoke and mirrors; and while we love a good story, at Inconspicuous with every piece of art we sell, we have both the story, and the provenance, backed by a full refund.
We are always happy to help so don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Instagram @INCONSPICUOUSARTGALLERY or sign up for our email list below!
Click here to book a complimentary consultation with our owner & curator (me)
James
