I have in my possession a pen in ink entitled "Victor Hugo Et Le
Voyage". It is signed by Pablo Picasso and dated 1951. The problem I
have, is that I acquired this piece as part of an estate purchase
while operating an antique dealership and have no provenance or
authentication attached to it. I have removed it from it's frame for
inspection and found nib marks clearly penetrating to the back of the
art paper on which it is drawn. I also have been able to compare it
line for line and space for space with an authenticated lithograph and
found it to match precisely. I can find no mention of the drawing in
any of my research and have found no record of it being part of any
collections. What is the procedure that must be followed to properly
authenticate this artwork so that I might place it on the market? I
live in Ohio and would like to find an attorney qualified to walk me
through the procedure. Thank you.

Dear samuel7-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. One of
the things you?ll ultimately need to do is to find a reputable art
consultancy organization that can authenticate your piece and provide
a universally recognized certification (in the form of a notarized
document, certificate of authenticity, appraisal or other
authoritative device). There are some renowned authorities on
Picasso?s work, the most regarded of these undoubtedly being Josep
Palau i Fabre, who was authorized as the leading authority by none
other than Picasso himself:

?By the expressed wish of Pablo Picasso, who he knew closely for
twenty-five years, Josep Palau i Fabre is the only person authorized
to authenticate his works. As Picasso's daughter, Maya, has said, he
is - along with Zervos, Daix, Geiser and Spies - the leading world
authority on Pablo Picasso's oeuvre.?

Josep Palau i Fabre
http://www.tamu.edu/mocl/picasso/biog/palau.html

It does not appear the Palau makes himself accessible directly to the
public but indeed it seems that Sotheby?s (a universally recognized
organization in it?s own right) occasionally consults with Palau on
Picasso works specifically for authentication purposes.  You might
consider speaking to someone there in order to help you to get started
on your question for authentication:

SOTHEBY'S
http://www.sothebys.com/
1334 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
US customer service line: (541) 312 5682

FREEMAN ART is another art consultancy organization that appears to
have authenticated (or discredited, in some cases) Picasso works, or
alleged works, in the past. You might consider contacting them as
well.

FREEMAN FINE ART CONSULTANCY
http://www.freemanart.ca/authentication.htm

We cannot, of course, recommend an attorney to you but as it turns out
there is a resource that can help you find a reputable and effective
lawyer who specialized in matters of art. You can begin your search
for the right attorney by using this Ohio lawyer database:

?In your time of need, nothing is more valuable than finding the
"right" art law lawyer or art law attorney in Ohio that will provide
for you the best possible legal representation. an art attorney for
you can assist with locating and contacting an attorney, should legal
representation be necessary, by providing free access to lawyers and
attorneys in the state of Ohio.?
AN ATTORNEY FOR YOU
http://www.anattorneyforyou.com/legal/art-law-ohio.htm
(I am as suprised as you that such a database exists - so we both
learned something new today, didn't we?)

In addition you can contact the Ohio State Bar Association and request
a lawyer referral in an effort to locate one that meets the needs,
expertise and expectations you specify:

OHIO STATE BAR ASOCIATION
http://www.ohiobar.org/
http://www.ohiobar.org/pub/?articleid=72

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

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SEARCH TERMS USED:

Authenitcation

Authenticate

Authority

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Ohio

I think that your answer was worth the $50 fee paid. You gave me
information that will hopefully help in seeing my project to fruition.
Portions of the answer (concerning Palau and Sotheby's) were avenues I
had already pursued unsuccessfully, however I am hopeful that I will
find an attorney through the link provided. Thank you, Samuel

Dear Samuel:
The authentication of a Picasso can be done only and sole
authenticator and this is Mrs Maya Picasso.She receives hundreds of
letters each day, coming mostly from Ebay adventurers, and of course
most of the time she denies the artwork. You need to send a well
documented file including : the description,the state of
conservation,how you obtain the artwork,etc etc. I advise you to make
this research file by an art expert, or an art appraiser.
The first step to make: send a very good photo front and back to this expert.
A file with the size, and all possible information you can have about
the art work, since it comes from an estate : who were the owners, the
names of the heirs etc. It's not unusual that a provenance can be very
important,easy to understand: if a painting comes from the US
president or it comes from the son of the gardener of my sisters
niece..there will be a different approach to the art , since it is
more likely that the President could have a Picasso.
If you want a complete information you have many websites available.
I have a website where you can post a photo of your artwork: <a
href="http://www.vanweyenbergh.com>my website</a>
I not agree to submit it to Sotheby's or Christie's, I explain this on
the website. The first question they will ask: from where comes the
artwork, and do you have an authentication? They take artworks with a
pedigree,etc
Unnecessary to tell you that I'm not a fan from the auction hosues
since I was a dealer for more than 30 years, and know very well what's
going on behind the scenes in the major auctions houses. There are
many articles available about them on the web.
I hope I could help you.
Regards
Gerard VAn Weyenbergh