Great Article by Patricia Cohen

Patricia Cohen with the New York Times published a great article yesterday."Valuable as Art, but Priceless as a Tool to Launder Money" tells how criminals have turned to  high value artwork to launder money, hide illicit profits and illegally transfer assets around the globe as other money-laundering strategies have grown more and more difficult over time. Very interesting read and look into the current art market, check it out!

"Valuable as Art, but Priceless as a Tool to Launder Money" by Patricia Cohen

According to the air bill slapped on the crate that arrived at Kennedy International Airport from London, an unnamed painting worth $100 was inside. Only later did federal investigators discover that it was by the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and worth $8 million.

This painting, known as “Hannibal” after a word scribbled on its surface, was brought into the United States in 2007 as part of a Brazilian embezzler’s elaborate effort to launder money, the authorities say. It was later seized at a Manhattan warehouse by federal investigators who are now preparing to return it to Brazil at the behest of law enforcement officials there.

The painting’s seizure was a victory in the economy-rattling, billion-dollar fraud and money laundering case ofEdemar Cid Ferreira, a former Brazilian banker who converted some of his loot into a 12,000-piece art collection.

Law enforcement officials in the United States and abroad say “Hannibal” is just one of thousands of valuable artworks being used by criminals to hide illicit profits and illegally transfer assets around the globe. As other traditional money-laundering techniques have come under closer scrutiny, smugglers, drug traffickers, arms dealers and the like have increasingly turned to the famously opaque art market, officials say.

It is hard to imagine a business more custom-made for money laundering, with million-dollar sales conducted in secrecy and with virtually no oversight. What this means in practical terms is that “you can have a transaction where the seller is listed as ‘private collection’ and the buyer is listed as ‘private collection,’ ” said Sharon Cohen Levin, chief of the asset forfeiture unit of the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. “In any other business, no one would be able to get away with this.”

Though there are no hard statistics on the amount of laundered money invested in art, law enforcements officials and scholars agree they are seeing more of it. The Basel Institute on Governance, a nonprofit research organization in Switzerland — the site of the world’s premiercontemporary and Modern art show — warned last year of the high volume of illegal and suspicious transactions involving art. But regulation has been scattershot and difficult to coordinate internationally.

In the United States federal money laundering statutes apply to nearly every major transaction through which illegal profits are disguised to look legal. Typically, dirty money is laundered through the purchase of, say, a penthouse apartment, or mixed in with the earnings of a legitimate business like a restaurant. When gambling winnings or drug proceeds come out the other end, they appear as a real estate asset or business profit. They look clean.

Most of these industries have checks. Real estate titles and deeds at least require a name. Mortgage brokers, stockbrokers, casinos, banks and Western Union must report suspicious financial activity to the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Banks must report all transactions of $10,000 or more. Altogether, the network logs more than 15 million currency transactions each year that can be used to track dirty money, said Steve Hudak, a spokesman for the agency. The art market lacks these safeguards. Roll up a canvas and it is easy to stash or move between countries; prices can be raised or lowered by millions of dollars in a heartbeat; and the names of buyers and sellers tend to be guarded zealously, leaving law enforcement to guess who was involved, where the money came from and whether the price was suspicious.

(Although federal prosecutors last month charged the New York art dealer Helly Nahmad with conspiring to launder $100 million in gambling money, the indictment says that bank accounts, not art, were used for laundering.)

Governments around the world have taken steps to bring illegal activity to light. In February, for instance, the European Commission passed rules requiring galleries to report anyone who pays for a work with more than 7,500 euros in cash (about $9,825), and to file suspicious-transaction reports.

The United States similarly requires all cash transactions of $10,000 or more to be reported. Still, laundering involving art tends to be handled case by case. Federal prosecutors, who usually discover art-related laundering through suspicious banking activity or illegal transport across borders, have worked closely with other countries and aggressively used their powers under civil law to confiscate art that they can establish is linked to a crime, even in the absence of a criminal conviction.

In a forthcoming book, “Money Laundering Through Art,” the Brazilian judge who presided over the Ferreira case, Fausto Martin De Sanctis, argues for more concerted international regulation, saying that if businesses like casinos and gem dealers must report suspicious financial activity to regulators, so should art dealers and auction houses.

But to dealers and their clients, secrecy is a crucial element of the art market’s mystique and practice. The Art Dealers Association of America dismissed the idea that using art to launder money was even a problem. “The issue is not an industrywide problem and really does not pertain to us,” said Lily Mitchem Pearsall, the association’s spokeswoman.

Law enforcement officials complain that dealers are playing down art’s role in a criminal underworld.

In Newark, federal prosecutors in a civil case recently announced the seizure of nearly $16 million in fine art photographs as part of a fraud and money laundering scheme that prosecutors say was engineered by Philip Rivkin, a Texas businessman.

The 2,200 photographs by masters like Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston and Edward Steichen — more than could fit into an 18-wheeler — were paid for, court papers say, with some of the $78 million that the authorities say Mr. Rivkin got from defrauding oil companies like Shell, Exxon, and Mobil. Mr. Rivkin, who has not been charged with any crimes, was last thought to be in Spain and had arranged to have the photos shipped there.

In New York, victims of the fraud and money laundering scams of the disbarred lawyer Marc Dreier are still in court fighting over art he bought with some of the $700 million stolen from hedge funds and investors. At the moment 28 works by artists like Matisse, Warhol, Rothko and Damien Hirst are being stored by the federal government.

“Hannibal” also sits in storage. That 1982 Basquiat work was part of a spectacular collection that Mr. Ferreira assembled while he controlled Banco Santos in Brazil. Some of these works had been exhibited at museums like the Guggenheim in New York.

Like most laundering cases involving art in the United States, this one was uncovered when the work was illegally transported into the country. In 2004 Mr. Ferreira’s financial empire, built partly on embezzled funds, collapsed, leaving $1 billion in debts. A court in São Paulo sentenced him in 2006 to 21 years in prison for bank fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, a conviction he is appealing. Before his arrest, however, more than $30 million of art owned by Mr. Ferreira and his wife, Márcia, was smuggled out of Brazil, Judge De Sanctis said.

According to court papers, “Hannibal” was bought for $1 million in 2004 by a Panamanian company called Broadening-Info Enterprises, which later tried to sell the painting for $5 million. It was sent to New York in 2007, passing through the hands of four shipping agents in two countries before landing at Kennedy.

Since merchandise valued at less than $200 may enter the United States without customs documentation, duty or tax, “Hannibal,” labeled worth $100, was cleared for entry even before the plane landed.

Philip Byler, Broadening’s lawyer in New York, said that the inaccurate invoices were merely a shortsighted attempt by the art dealer that Broadening hired to save importation fees. “It was not done with the intention of smuggling,” he said. He also challenged the Brazilian authorities’ claim, saying that “Hannibal” was legally purchased from a company owned by Mr. Ferreira’s wife.

Mr. Byler said that Broadening intends to appeal the forfeiture.

You can find Patricia Cohen's original article here: Valuable as Art, but Priceless as a Tool to Launder Money

Auction Houses: The Changing Market

In recent months the powerhouses of the auction world, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, have raised their buyer’s premium rates – the amount of commission buyers pay above the hammer price of works sold at auction – for the first time in over five years.  Christie’s announced the change to their clients on February 15th via a mass e-mail, and, as auction houses have historically followed one another, Sotheby’s announced their increase on February 28^th. The rates break down like this:

As shown in the graphs above, both auction houses have kept the same percentage increments – 25%, 20% and 12%.  However, as shown in the tables, both have increased the sales range for each percentage; raising the limits within each bracket anywhere from $25,000 up to $1,000,000.

Both companies reported a drop in auction commission revenue in 2012 and claim the increase in buyer’s premium was a necessary move due to the rising costs within the industry.  The business model of Sotheby’s and Christie’s no longer lends itself to work with artworks expected to receive below $30,000 - $40,000 once on the auction block, and now the lower market is pushing against the larger houses.  They simply cannot compete against the premiums (anywhere from 4-15%) charged by smaller houses and, more specifically, by online auctions.

Sotheby’s and Christie’s are now focusing the majority of their attention on attracting high-priced sales while avoiding the lower market altogether.  By raising their buyer’s premium rates, both houses are aiming to attract high-end consumers in the market and deter those within the lower sectors.  Both houses have stated raising profits as the reason for their increases, but if the change was to solely raise profits they would have increased the premium rates charged to buyers and not the amounts at which those premiums are calculated.  If, instead of raising the amounts within the percentage tiers, they raised the percentages for the tiers they previously had in place, the profit per sale would increase.  Rather, the decision by Christie’s and Sotheby’s to increase their premiums was not only to increase the profit made from each sale, but to adjust their selling approach within the changing art auction market.

There was speculation whether or not the auction houses Bonham’s or Phillips (previously Phillips de Pury until January of this year) would follow the decision by Sotheby’s and Christie’s to raise their rates.  Bonham’s released a statement announcing they will not be raising their rates.  Matthew Girling, chief executive at Bonham’s for the UK and Europe, said,

“With the USA just now coming out of a recession and Europe still struggling, we do not feel this is the right time to be adding to our buyer’s costs by increasing the buyer’s premium thresholds.”

No one seems to be mentioning that Bonham’s raised their rates in late 2011 (25% for the first $50,000, 20% for $50,001 to $1,000,000 and 12% for anything above $1,000,001) to match and stay competitive with the rates at Sotheby’s and Christie’s at that time.

As of April 25^th, Phillips has adjusted its buyer’s premium schedule: 25% for the first $100,000, 20% for $100,001 to $2,000,000 and 12% for anything above $2,000,001.  This adjustment widens the price thresholds at which fees are applied but represents no change in the fee percentages themselves, as is the trend.

So, the big guys have raised their rates – what about the lower market?

What is the “lower market” the huge houses are staying away from in their updated business plans?

The lower market consists of local auction houses, regional auction houses and online auctions.  These are the houses within the secondary market that have a much lower minimum per-lot value than the powerhouses.

The regional houses in the DFW area are Heritage Auctions and Dallas Auction Galleries, both located in the design district of Dallas.  Both of these houses have buyer’s premium rates for fine art auctions at 25% on the first $50,000, 20% of any amount between $50,000 and $1,000,000 and 12% of any amount over $1,000,000 (these are recent increases and are the previous levels both Sotheby’s and Christie’s had their rates set before the decision to increase).  Auction houses such as Heritage and D.A.G are why the powerhouses are embracing their new strategies.  The huge distinction historically separating local auctions, where you brought that painting you found in Aunt Mindy’s attic, from the mammoth auction houses, where collectors went to purchase and sell fine antiques and blue-chip works, is beginning to fade away – the gap is closing.

With the aid of technology and internet auctions like www.LiveAuctioneers.com, the seller’s connection to the market is instantaneous and accessible from anywhere there is an internet connection.  LiveAuctioneers brings an international audience directly to the bidding action at auctions worldwide.

The introduction of LiveAuctioneers into the regional auction house means the buying audience for those houses is no longer limited to those able to attend the auction.  Collectors can track their favorite artists worldwide and can virtually attend and bid at any auction supported by LiveAuctioneers.  This has radically changed the business prospects of regional auction houses and has forced the ‘big guys’ to redefine their target audience.

So- How do these new realities affect sellers?

In the art market, though the gap between upper market and lower market auction houses has been and is consistently shrinking, finding the best place to sell a work of art requires auction strategy.  When consigning an item for auction there are several factors to consider.  When brokering pieces for our clients much analysis goes into selecting the right auction house.

The bigger houses have a perceived advantage in selling certain types of high-end items.  They have a longer history of offering such work and have likely developed a larger clientele list at the upper end of the market.

However, when approaching one of the big houses, one must be aware of the fees.

Oh…the fees.

A seller at one of the bigger auction houses has to consider shipping costs, catalogue illustration fees, insurance fees  (usually 1.5% of the hammer price charged retroactively and taken from sale proceeds, but somehow stated to cover the client while items were under the auction house’s care) and higher buyer’s and seller’s premiums when figuring out the best sale venue.

Auction houses operate as the secondary market within the art world.  They are a great resource to take advantage of when selling or buying artwork.  They aren’t out to swindle or scam people, however they are a business and are out to make a profit and one needs to be informed and aware of the auction world before deciding to approach it.

So, the take away: Do your research.

Research the art: You need to know about the artwork(s) you are looking to sell or buy in order to find the proper auction setting to place them in / buy them from.  Having values in mind beforehand on what you are comfortable selling / buying for is a must.  Take your items to a well-trained appraiser and have them place a value on the piece and advise you on how to approach the market.  Schedule and consultation and ask the questions you need answered: Is this an original or reproduction?  Does it need to be cleaned before taken to auction?  Will this do better if taken to an auction or consigned to a gallery?  What is a reasonable price range to be expecting for resale?  These are questions you need answered before considering auction houses to consign with.  Hiring an art consultant to show you the ropes and advise you as you enter the auction market is a smart first step.

Research the record: Be aware of a house’s history with a certain artist or period or style.  Know what they have done well with in the past.  Know what they have been unsuccessful with in the past.

Research the terms of service:  Know their rates (both buyer’s and seller’s) for the sale at auction; know their rates for private sales – which are usually 10%-15% higher.  Learn the fees.  You will sign a contract when consigning to sell with a house, so be aware of the fine print before you sign the line at the bottom.

Research or hire:  Hiring an experienced professional to broker your work and handle the sale / purchase for you is a solution for clients who don’t have the time necessary to get to know the market, or for those who don’t want to get in the market and would rather hand the reigns over to a professional.  These experts are happy to work for their clients in finding the best place for their purchases or sales to be made, and utilize an insider’s seasoned perspective within the market.

Research and be hands on:  Don’t be afraid to approach the auction world if it is something you are interested in and something you are able to devote time to.  It can be loads of fun.  Just do not dive into it without knowing what you are getting into.  Go preview and watch an auction.  Dallas Auction Galleries and Heritage Auctions are great places to start here in the DFW area – make a fun evening of it.  Watch live auctions going on all over the world through LiveAuctioneers to get some exposure before you register for a bidding paddle with your number on it.

The auction market might be the perfect place to start your collection of art or to sell those paintings you inherited from Aunt Mindy.  However, it can be a bit daunting for a novice.  If we can be of service to help you, either to buy or sell, don’t hesitate to give us a call.  Sensible, objective advice on the purchase or sale of artwork is what sets Signet Art apart!

M.P. Callender

Cindy Sherman retrospective at the Dallas Museum of Art

The Dallas Museum of Art first exhibited Cindy Sherman's work in 1988, and she is back at the DMA after 25 years.  The comprehensive survey of Sherman’s work draws widely from public and private collections with nearly 160 photographic works on display. "Cindy Sherman is widely recognized as one of the most important contemporary artists of the last forty years, and she is arguably the most influential artist working exclusively with photography." - Dallas Museum of Art

Born in 1954, Sherman is a photographer who incorporates aspects of identity, feminism, cultural criticism, body and politics into her work.  While studying painting at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Sherman traded her paintbrush for a camera and, after graduating in 1976, moved to New York to pursue a career in photography.

Her series of seventy works "Untitled Film Stills" (1977-1980), in which the artist took photographs of herself dressed as invented personages and characters meant to emulate stereotypical female clichés inspired by 1950's and 1960's Hollywood noir and B-movies, garnered much attention and acclaim for the aspiring artist.  The images intended to resemble and call to mind the happy house wife, innocent college girl, candid celebrity or  femme fatale brought a fresh approach to popular culture that allowed Sherman to enter the art world with success.

The pieces within the DMA exhibition are the result of one photographer, one model, one make-up artist, one hairdresser, one costume designer, one director... what the audience sees is Cindy Sherman herself.  She is posing for her own camera and works without assistance as she prepares and shoots; it is a solo act, and has been for over thirty years.

The show is organized by series:

"Untitled Film Stills"(1977-1980) - the black and white photographs that set the artist's career in motion. "Society Portraits" (2008) - Huge color images show the struggle of status-obsessed culture, women with mounds of makeup and cosmetic alteration clinging to youth.  In these Sherman makes her characters vulnerable behind all the costuming and make-up, commenting on society's perception and intense focus on beauty. "History Portraits" (1988–90) - A modern representation in Art History, highlighting the relationship between the painters and their model, with allusions to Ingres, Caravaggio, Raphael and other Old Masters; all who were men, all whose models were women.  Sherman borrows from several periods of art, renaissance, the baroque and neoclassical. The artist uses heavy makeup and obvious prosthetics to transform into the characters of the era. "Fashion" (1983–84, 1993–94, 2007–08) - This is a series of works that challenge and comment on ideas of beauty and grace within the fashion industry.  Over the years, fashion has been an inspiration for Sherman and she has been commissioned by many well known fashion designers and magazines. "Centerfolds" (1981)-  A series of twelve images that refer to the printed page and the cinema in two by four foot horizontal photographs where the female subjects are placed on differing emotional stages; scared, lonely, melancholic, bored, heartbroken.  Here Sherman is exploring the alienation of women.  A great work in this section, "Untitled #96, 1981", in which Sherman lies on a linoleum floor in a sweater and skirt looking absently away from the viewer, a thirty-something single clutching a personals ad torn from a newspaper, sold at a Christie's New York auction for $3.89 million in 2011, the most expensive photograph ever sold at the time (a record which has since been beaten). "Clowns" (2002–04)-  All of the subjects in this series are dressed in bright colors and carnivalesque makeup, a jovial and even comical surface layer for the characters.  Sherman is using the clowns because, underneath the vibrant bursts of color and wide tooth smiles, is an underlying sadness.  As the artist said in an interview last year, "clowns are sad, but they’re also psychotically, hysterically happy."  Sherman is using the persona of the clown to have a conversation - people can paint themselves to look happy, even if they are sad underneath.  She goes to the extreme to show the vast emotional possibilities behind a painted smile. "Sex Pictures" (1992)- After the popular success of her "History Portraits" show, Sherman felt she had to challenge herself to do something difficult, something that would make it "...hard for the audience to just, you know, applaud and throw their hands up in the air..." she said in a 2010 interview when asked about her jarring new series.  Reenacting pornographic scenes with prosthetics and mannequin parts purchased from medical-supply catalogues, this section of the exhibition should have a warning sign to caution parents from bringing their children in.  The images are graphic, sexual, and though there is no actual nudity since everything is fake, the photographs are disturbing.  In this same section are images from the 1980s and 90s when Sherman was interested in grotesque and macabre narratives, investigating ideas of censorship and, as intended, making it hard for the audience to simply applaud.

*Sorry, no example of these, the content is too graphic for this blog

"Headshots" (2000)- In her headshots, Sherman invented characters who have fallen victim to the cycle of desire, ambition and failure of Hollywood.  These images depict would-be stars, failed actors and has-been performers posing for headshots for agents and agencies.  With a little tongue-in-cheek, Sherman first exhibited this series in Beverly Hills, California. "Fairy Tales & Mythology" (1985)-  “In horror stories or fairy tales, the fascination with the morbid is also, at least for me, a way to prepare for the unthinkable…That’s why it’s very important for me to show the artificiality of it all, because the horrors of the world are unwatchable and they’re too profound. It’s much easier to absorb – to be entertained by it, but also to let it affect you psychologically – if it’s done in a fake, humorous, artificial way.” -Cindy Sherman As a working artist, Sherman continues to use her own disguised body as the subject in her works.  Her photographs are not self-portraits and have nothing to do with the artist herself.  All of her works are untitled and simply given a number, i.e. "Untitled #109" or "Untitled #434", which further distances Sherman from the images; she wants the viewer to draw their own conclusions and has refused to title any of her works.  Throughout her career, from the film stills to the society portraits, her work has been an investigation of identity - what it is, how we use it, how it changes - and how photography is the means in which identity is manufactured in popular culture and, now, social media.

Cindy Sherman is the recipient of the MacArthur Award and Hasselblad Award for Photography.  She currently lives and works in New York City.  Her newer works are embracing the possibilities available through digital photography and photo manipulation software.

While you are at the DMA, be sure to catch the other two special exhibitions currently showing, "Loren Mozley: Structural Integrity," runs from February 17–June 30, 2013 and "Chagall: Beyond Color," runs from February 17–May 26, 2013.  A purchase of one $16 dollar ticket will get you access to all three special exhibitions.  If you are a member, the shows are free.

-M.P. Callender Signet Art

All images used for purpose of this article and are not intended for reproduction, copyright is reserved for the artist

Ed Ruscha: "Made In California", a current exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1937 and raised in Oklahoma City, working artist Ed Ruscha (pronounced 'Rou-shāy') has experimented with a diverse range of media and styles throughout his career and is best known for his images depicting single words ostensibly suspended in space.  His works have portrayed everything from gas stations, hordes of flies and boiling blood, to the scenery of downtown Los Angeles where he moved in 1956 and currently lives and works.

With the intention of becoming a commercial artist, Ruscha enrolled at Chouinard Art Institute, now Cal Arts.  He worked as a printer's assistant where he set type by hand, pulled proofs and cleaned the presses and workshop.  This experience of working with texts, of physically handling letters and arranging words, intrigued Ruscha.

In1969, after garnering some attention and fame for his Pop Art style and approach, Ruscha was invited to work at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, which was established in L.A. in an attempt to resurrect the practice of fine art lithography.  Ruscha embraced lithography as a means to explore recurring themes from his earlier original and serigraph works, exploring the artificial culture of Hollywood and the visual representations of words and language.

This particular exhibit of lithographs draws from his time in California as he worked with Tamarind.  Single words and phrases, called his "liquid words," are placed against a solid backdrop or dull landscape.  The words seems to float and lay flat simultaneously and the background is both stoic and infinite; both solid behind the word and expanding beyond it.  This competition between the visual and the verbal makes perception and interpretation particularly engaging.  Ruscha presents the word itself as an object.

The artist's interest in typography ultimately provided the primary subject of his paintings, prints and photographs.  As a graphic artist, he felt confined by the rudimentary rules of fonts and lettering.  He was able to break away from and solve his typographical angst by inventing his liquid words, seeing the words and phrases used in commercial art and advertising as able to collide with, and be integrated into, the world of pictures.

Ruscha's choice of words is a constant question for the audience as they view his works.

Why Anchovy in watery letters? 

Why Air against a yellow background?

Why City?

Ruscha explains the words he chooses are all, "things that somehow personally affect me, that I find amusing, or ironic, or something."

The most famous pieces in the show are his series of lithographs of the Hollywood sign.  Ruscha claims the sign, "...always had a surreal quality... It represents such a huge fantasy, and those giant letters make what is a very undistinguishable hill look magical (sic)."  These monochromatic prints seem to downplay the glamour evoked by those huge white letters. The works are small.  Their diminutive  scale pulls the viewer in.  The print above, "Hollywood in the Rain," is a colorless, drab rectangular blur from afar.  The viewer has to get close to see the streaks across the print are meant to be rain.

Ruscha first used the sign as subject matter in 1967, and since then the image has reappeared in many of his works.  The recurrence of those bold letters reinforces Ruscha's infatuation with celebrity culture and cinema as a whole.  All the prints in the "Hollywood" series emphasize the horizontal, pointing to the panoramic proportions of the big-screen.

See "Hollywood With Observatory, 1969" below.  The print is 6 ½ inches tall by 32 inches long.

A work that stands out in the show is "Sin, 1969."  The three-dimensional words depicted in a trompe l'oeil technique made to look like ribbons of folded paper is another motif often used by Ruscha.  The word "Sin" stands tall and each letter casts a shadow against a gray and white background while a lone olive sits in the lower right corner.

Everything is in grayscale besides the olive, which is bright green and orange and casts a shadow of its own.  These two subjects seem to be making a commentary on the Hollywood lifestyle.  It is a dark print, the word "Sin" evoking dark connotations, but the colorful olive adds a whimsical element that is almost carefree, that is very Hollywood.

The exhibit opened January 15th and runs through July 21st. Great show, great museum, absolutely free.

-M.P. Callender

Improving your Connoisseurship of Paintings

Knowledge will make you a better collector

While staffing the fine art appraisers table at a charitable appraisal day recently, I had the sad duty to inform more than one hopeful participant that the “Rembrandt” or “Remington” painting they had brought for assessment was actually not a painting, but a print transfer and, as such, was not worth very much at all.   I also had the great privilege of identifying a few pieces as the work of well-known, collectible artists.  The owners of those paintings were often stunned by their values. Both the disappointed and the elated kept asking the same series of questions.  “Well, how do you know it is /is not real?”   “How can I do some research on my own?”   This primer to painting connoisseurship is a great place to start for the beginner and may offer a few tips for the advanced collector.

Original painting or a reproduction?

First, we need to start with separating real paintings from reproductions.   If you find a piece or two in Grandma’s attic that clearly bear Picasso’s or Monet’s signature, we hope that it is an original, but what are the clues that separate the original from the reproduction?  Here are some of them:

• Is it behind glass?  Although works on paper by important artists can be highly collectible, the largest number of reproductions are also on paper.   Chances are, if your recognizably famous piece is on paper, it’s because it is a printed copy or reproduction of a well-known original in another medium.
• If it is not behind glass, look at the front surface in raking light.  Raking light is the light that skims across the surface as we turn a piece somewhat to the side.  This view shows us the surface levels of the paint, peaks and valleys.   If the piece appears flat, it is a reproduction (or a drawing).   If the piece appears to have a regular swirled pattern, it is probably also a reproduction.  This swirled surface is created by the application of a clear gel substance that mimics paintbrush strokes.   If the piece appears to have peaks of paint that correspond to the image detail of the painting, it is likely an original painting. Hint: White is a thicker paint and is usually applied with less glazing medium.   The white or light areas of the painting are great for this type of inspection.
• If you have access to a jeweler’s loupe, examine the surface under magnification.  A reproductive print will have a regular pattern of dots when examined this way, while an original will show the brushstrokes closer.

• Now, look at the support.  Flip the piece over, and inspect the verso, the back surface.  If the piece is on cardboard, it is likely a reproduction. For centuries, artists have produced paintings on wooden panels and on canvases stretched over wooden frames (stretchers).  In the 20^th century, companies began to provide “canvas-boards,” canvas that has been glued to a flat art board.  These will be clearly marked with manufacturer’s name and size.   However, if you see plain, brown cardboard, you are likely looking at a mass-produced reproduction.
• If the piece is on canvas and the stretchers are thin (1 x 2”), light-color wood and the canvas appears to be new, light in color, machine woven, this is a clue that dates it to the last ½ of the 20^th century.

  

  It might be a recently produced oil or acrylic original. Or it might be a print-transfer of a well-known piece.  A print-transfer is a photomechanical reproduction print of an original in another medium (oil or watercolor, for instance) that has been glued another surface.  Prints can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces, including cardboard and canvas.

• Also check the verso for labels.  Many reproductions bear printed labels or inventory numbers on the verso that give away their history as mass-produced commercial products.    Originals are often signed and titled on the verso.  You might also find dealer’s stamps that tell you who handled the piece in the past.

Identifying Authorship

After you have set aside the reproductions, you can begin to look closely at the paintings for important clues to authorship, age/date and condition, three of the important determinates of value. Authorship or attribution is an important element of value.   Two paintings may look very much alike, but if one is by Picasso and the other is by P. Kasso, their values will be worlds apart.   Sometimes a piece bears a signature.  If so, does the signature on your painting match a known signature?  This can be researched at a good art library.   There are many source-books that have photocopies of the most important artists’ signatures.  One of my favorite sources  for signature matching is a series of books by John Castagno published by Scarecrow Press.   If the signature looks good, look at the overall style of the piece.   Does it match a known style for the artist, known subject matter, known medium?

Keep in mind that not every signed piece is by the hand of a well-known artist.   We all have weekend painters in our families and most of them prominently sign their paintings.  When you find a signed painting, you will need to research the artist’s biography.  Was he/she someone important in the history of art?  What was his/her contribution?  What are they best known for?     This type of research is also best conducted in a good art library.   There are many sources for biographies.  You will have to pinpoint the country of origin for the artist, since biographical sources are grouped in this way.  Benezit’s Dictionary of Artists, for instance, is a fourteen-volume, French language dictionary of European artists from the 16^th c. to 1960.  Falk’s Who Was Who in American Art is a wonderful, three-volume set covering American artists up to 1970.

If you find biographical information on the artist and some information on working style, you will be better able to compare your painting to the overall work of the artist.  If, however, you do some research and come up empty-handed, your painting might be the treasured piece by great uncle Ned.   Uncle Ned’s painting might not bring much in the open market, but it could be a wonderful connection to your family’s history.

Determining Age

The date or age of a painting is another important determinate of value.   Of course, it is simple if the piece is dated along with the signature.   Then, you can just make sure that the date is within the known lifetime of the artist.   However, if the piece is not dated, physical examination can help determine a time frame and country of origin.   Is it 19^th century British School or 18^th C. Italian school, for instance?  This is a little trickier, and may require the input of a professional.  But, here is a list of clues to help train your eye to make this sort of determination on your own:

• Social/ historical cues –

  

  • What is the dress/ attire of the people depicted?   If they are wearing powdered white wigs that might lead to a conclusion that a piece was created in the late 18^th C., or later in the style of the 18^th century.   If the women are wearing mini-skirts, the piece must have been done from 1960 or later.
  • What mechanical objects or other objects are depicted?  What is the means of transportation?  Horse-drawn carriages, trains, automobiles, etc.
  • Are there country-of-origin cues?  flags flying, court dress, well-known buildings or monuments, distinctive landscape details

• Art Historical Cues—
• Knowing your “isms” can be very handy.

Having some background in art history is a big plus.  But even without this, you can arrive at some conclusions by comparison of styles on your own.

• Is the piece done in a traditional, historic style or a loose, interpretive style?
• What is the color palette?
• How is the paint applied—thin layers of glazes or thick brushy strokes?
• Physical cues /Examine the canvas itself—
• Construction of the stretchers—this can suggest date and country of origin
• Craquelure on the image—Craquelure is an overall network of fine cracks that tends to develop in oil paintings of a certain age.  It is caused chiefly by the shrinkage of the paint film or varnish over the years.  Craquelure is a sure sign of some age.  Older pieces tend to have a finer, smaller network of craquelure.
• The wood color of the stretchers or panel –Stretchers and painting panels are left unvarnished and the color naturally darkens over time.   A bright, light wood tone means a newer piece.

Considering Condition

Condition is another important element of value.  The condition of a painting is somewhat subjective.  One cannot expect an 18^th C. canvas to be in the same condition as a 20^th C. canvas.   The 200 year difference would mean that the older piece might have been sent for conservation one or more times.     In an older piece, you should expect to see a re-lined canvas.  Re-lining is the term for adding another back support to a canvas that has grown weak and unstable.    Canvases that have been re-lined properly will have a newer, tighter-weave canvas (or linen) applied to the back of the older support.  The most accepted method of application is with a wax substance.   It will appear somewhat darker than raw canvas and have a waxy feel on the verso when touched lightly.   Re-lining also allows the conservator to lay the paint layer back onto the support and prevent flaking of paint.

Another element that you might see in an older canvas is in-painting.  In-painting is done by a conservator after the piece is re-lined.  The conservator fills bare spots left by flaked paint and attempts to match the surrounding painted areas.  There are several ways to spot in-painting.  Older in-painting may have changed color and no longer match the surrounding paint.   In-painting can sometimes be spotted with an inspection in strong raking light.   Another method is the use of a black light.  Most professionals, dealers and appraisers, own and use a black light.  Interpretation of what is seen under black light examination can be subtle and may require the input of a professional.

When a piece comes to a conservator for restoration, often the paint has already begun to actively flake from the surface.   The amount and location of the in-painting is important to the value of a piece.   If there is a small amount of in-painting and it is located in less “important” areas of the image, the background of a portrait, for instance, this would have little to no effect on the value.  However, if most of the image has been lost and in-painted, this could negatively affect the value of the piece.

Active cupping and flaking of paint are, of course, condition problems and should be taken into account when considering the sale or purchase of a painting.  These can often be successfully addressed by a conservator, however, this will add expense to the purchase.   The tautness of the canvas on the support and the overall strength of the canvas are issues to consider.  If the canvas is bowing, sagging or torn, this needs to be addressed immediately.  Ignoring these problems will lead to loss of the paint surface and degradation of value.

Now that you have learned to differentiate paintings from reproductions and the essential elements of value—authorship, age and condition, your connoisseurship of fine paintings will grow each time you use these skills.   Look, look, look!  Your eye improves as you train it.   Talk to reputable dealers who handle the artists in which you are interested.  Begin to follow the careers of a few artists and compare their work from different time periods.  Buy what you love from reputable sources and you will never be disappointed.

By Brenda Simonson-Mohle, ISA CAPP