What is a Certificate of Authenticity
and Why Does it Matter?
"Anything that is worth something is going to be worth being faked."
-- Nicolas Chow, Sotheby's
Nicolas Chow is a Sotheby's Chinese works of art expert. For his insights and other experts, check out this link to Sotheby's Episode 1: Authenticity, from Sotheby's The Value of Art Series.
Art buyers want to know they’re buying the genuine article; everyone benefits from weeding out fakes. In a very high profile federal case "Knoedler, a gallery was found to have knowingly sold some $60 million in fake Abstract Expressionist paintings in a massive scandal that shook the art world. It’s undisputed that Knoedler sold fakes, but the defendants deny wrongdoing; they say they too were duped. The case was settled but it rocked the art world. Before that, the Andy Warhol Foundation spent $7 million vindicating itself in one lawsuit before shuttering its authentication board.
Art buyers want to know they’re buying the genuine article; everyone benefits from weeding out fakes. In a very high profile federal case "Knoedler, a gallery was found to have knowingly sold some $60 million in fake Abstract Expressionist paintings in a massive scandal that shook the art world. It’s undisputed that Knoedler sold fakes, but the defendants deny wrongdoing; they say they too were duped. The case was settled but it rocked the art world. Before that, the Andy Warhol Foundation spent $7 million vindicating itself in one lawsuit before shuttering its authentication board.
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Museums and art advisors have a duty to investigate authenticity and research provenance.
Certificates of Authenticity (COA) are essential in the fine art world. Generally speaking, a valid COA for an artwork will include specific details about the artwork like when and how it was produced, the names of people or companies involved in the artwork's production, the work's exact title, the dimensions of the art, and the names of reference books, magazines, or similar resources that contain either specific or related information about either that work of art or the artist. COAs have been a target of much controversy due to online auction sites where sellers provide fake Certificates of Authenticity to market or sell works of art. A Howard Lamar Fine Arts Certificate of Authenticity is a signed and witnessed document confirming the authenticity of the work and containing details about an artwork for the collector's reference. When we represent a Lamar work for sale, the purchaser can be assured of the artwork's authenticity. |
Certificate of Authenticity (COA): The Process
Trying to confirm authenticity after a purchase can be a nightmare. News in the art world is rife with challenges to authenticity and stories of the impossibility of validating the authenticity of a work of art
Disclosure. Howard Lamar is both an artist and a self-represented dealer. This creates an inherent interest in the values of Howard Lamar's artworks. To avoid a conflict of interest by assigning a value to the artwork, Howard Lamar Fine Art cannot, in good faith, issue or offer a statement of opinion of the value of any Howard Lamar artwork we are not representing for sale. We are not appraisers.
Therefore, we strongly recommend an independent appraisal by an accredited fine art appraiser who is not an art dealer (many of them are).
An appraiser who is also a dealer could be subject to an inherent conflict of interest. For example, an appraiser/dealer may be tempted to undervalue an artwork to purchase it at a sub-fair market price and then resell it at market price for a profit.
By that token, all artworks accepted on consignment by Howard Lamar Fine Art must have a recent third-party appraisal and a Certificate of Authenticity.
Disclosure. Howard Lamar is both an artist and a self-represented dealer. This creates an inherent interest in the values of Howard Lamar's artworks. To avoid a conflict of interest by assigning a value to the artwork, Howard Lamar Fine Art cannot, in good faith, issue or offer a statement of opinion of the value of any Howard Lamar artwork we are not representing for sale. We are not appraisers.
Therefore, we strongly recommend an independent appraisal by an accredited fine art appraiser who is not an art dealer (many of them are).
An appraiser who is also a dealer could be subject to an inherent conflict of interest. For example, an appraiser/dealer may be tempted to undervalue an artwork to purchase it at a sub-fair market price and then resell it at market price for a profit.
By that token, all artworks accepted on consignment by Howard Lamar Fine Art must have a recent third-party appraisal and a Certificate of Authenticity.
Do you own Howard Lamar Art?
You can download a COA Information Worksheet, fill it out and return it to us with the information about your Howard Lamar art work. This is a preliminary information worksheet, and obligates neither you to pay nor us to provide a Certification of Authenticity.
Seller AnonymitySeller anonymity is one of the rules of the high stakes art world in that sales very often deal with large amounts of money and...celebrity. If an image can be tied to a particular individual or organization as an asset, that potentially discloses, in part, financial information about that person or organization. A specific work of art is not anonymous - an image of that work is generally recognizable, and since the totality of that artist's market is affected by key sales, often the only way to protect personal financial information is keep both seller's and buyer's names anonymous.
This assures compliance with regulations against disclosing an individual's financial information without authorization. Occasionally, a buyer will publicly acknowledge such a purchase, this is often done to support the market and/or cultivate the demand for that artist's works. |
Catalogue RaisonnéAll Howard Lamar art which has been certifiably authenticated will be included in the artist's Catalogue Raisonne.
A catalogue raisonné is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified by third parties. ProvenanceDefinition of Provenance: The history of the work of art, where it's been, changes in ownership.
It is important to note in your records and share with us the history of the piece. |