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Q: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work please. ( No Answer,   7 Comments )
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Subject: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work please.
Category: Arts and Entertainment > Visual Arts
Asked by: dubois70-ga
List Price: $40.00
Posted: 27 Mar 2006 12:36 PST
Expires: 08 Apr 2006 11:29 PDT
Question ID: 712512
Looking for an example of a formal submittal of an art authentication
document-as would an art historian perform. I am told this would consist of
things such as a formal study of the work, the subject,the artist,
iconography,etc. Specifically referencing a contemporary work would be
of most use, post war subject such as Kandinsky,Bacon,Warhol,etc. PDF
or Doc preferred.This may

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 27 Mar 2006 15:37 PST
dubois70-ga,

There are numerous mentions of reports of particular paintings, but
very little online leads to actual reports -- it seems most of these
investigations are handled as fairly private matters.

There are some exceptions, though.  Have a look at this link:


http://www.nga.gov/collection/provfeat.shtm
World War II Provenance Research


where you can click on any painting to get a detailed description of its history.


Is this the sort of information you're looking for?


pafalafa-ga

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 31 Mar 2006 09:25 PST
dubois70-ga,

Sorry you didn't receive an email notification...that seems to be
glitch in the system these days.

As for the authentications, most of these seem to be private
documents.  I did find one in print, however, but to access it, you
would need the services of a good library, with access to academic
databases (I found it in JSTOR).

You can see a bit of the article here:


http://esnips.com/web/GoogleAnswers 


by clicking on the file named:  authentication daumier.jpg 


The full article is 8 pages.

Let me know if this looks like what you need.


paf

Clarification of Question by dubois70-ga on 31 Mar 2006 16:49 PST
Paf- see answer below.

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 31 Mar 2006 19:28 PST
dubois70-ga,

Wow...this is a tough assignment, much moreso that I would have thought.

Here are some other possibilities, though again, it would take a
librarian's help to access the full articles:


ODYSSEY TO AN AUTHENTICATION: A GEORGE CALEB BINGHAM COLORADO LANDSCAPE.  

...Prints an account of the author's investigation into the identity
of the artist who painted a Rocky Mountain landscape he had bought at
a 1978 auction. His inquiries led him to the discovery that the work
was an 1878 rendering of Pikes Peak in Colorado, and was the last
large landscape painted by George Caleb Bingham, a 19th-century
Missouri artist.

Documentation: Based on museum records, records and recollections of
previous owners, Colorado newspapers and city records, and art experts
evaluations; 4 photos.
 

===============

[Not quite modern art, but...]

THE AUTHENTICATION OF THE ENGROSSED DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ON JULY 4, 1776.  
 
...Challenges the widely held view among scholars that the engrossed
Declaration of Independence was actually signed on 2 August 1776
rather than the traditional 4 July. The evidence for dating the
signing is reviewed including official publications and the
recollections of the participants. An apparent erasure in the title of
the document from "of Twelve" to "of the Thirteen United" is cited as
further evidence for the restoring of the traditional 4 July dating of
the Declaration. A future examination of the document by ultraviolet
and beta radiography will provide more definitive proof for the
traditional dating.

Documentation: 81 notes.
 
===============


Let me know what you think,

paf

Clarification of Question by dubois70-ga on 31 Mar 2006 23:29 PST
Paf, 
   Okay-The reference to the gentlemans story"odyssey to an
authentication"- I am living that now. (Laugh here)Yet, I still will
need some form of paperwork to submitt to the foundation of the
artists work I own.

Odyssey..is exactly that-a biography of a journey, tempting read; but
remember as its biographical and narrative in nature-still not a stand
alone study of the work.

 Maybe lets change the request for contemporary, call it merely a
point of reference-I will take anything as a example of that study of
work on canvas by any artist.Old world master stuff is complex and a
general mess, but might be workable as a baseline. Lets see how this
does....
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work pleas
From: myoarin-ga on 27 Mar 2006 15:47 PST
 
HI,
I have been looking but could not find an example of a certificate of authenticity.
Perhaps this site would be of interest to you.  It contains a bunch of
authoritative discussions about authenticity and on one mentions what
should be in a certificate.

http://www.artbusiness.com/collectors.html
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work please.
From: dubois70-ga on 31 Mar 2006 02:48 PST
 
My apologies-I thought this thing would e-mail me. The provenance info
is a part of a formal study of the work, but again, only a portion.
What I am looking for as a document example gives meaning, direction,
insight, proof, and thru deductive reasoning-build the case as to why
the work is one artist or another.This will take some effort I
believe, as I have looked for months.It may be I have a stumper for
all, as I am quite a researcherI am  told.
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work pleas
From: myoarin-ga on 31 Mar 2006 15:25 PST
 
Yes, "this thing" is supposed to send emails to you when a
clarification, answer or comment is posted to your question, but
recently it hasn't been behaving  - as mentioned on another question.

Here is a site that could be useful.  Although the potential click to
an authentication is dead, it seems very likely that the site owner
could provide you with a copy of a certificate.
http://www.vanweyenbergh.com/art_news_3.htm

This article points out the need for an authentication to be itself authentic.
http://edwardwinkleman.blogspot.com/2006/03/argument-for-expertise.html

Also if you asked a major auction house, it might provide a copy or
transcript, especially if it were for an item in a current auction.
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work please.
From: dubois70-ga on 31 Mar 2006 16:49 PST
 
Gentleman, 
  This is indeed closer-however I think the articale seems to focus on
the problem of no guidelines in the artists body of work, or other key
"constants" for the purposes performing a study of the work, or at
least having a catalogue d'raisonne so as to have a complete overview
of his works,understand his hand and all. No,-this isnt it and
probably wont get me there either-keep looking ?
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work please.
From: dubois70-ga on 31 Mar 2006 16:55 PST
 
As far as Van Weybergh and associates-thats where I got the general
outline from.However-they are not willing to provide a sample
either-my guess in the effort of ensuring I contract them. Again, what
I am looking for is closer to a formal study of the work. Basically, a
real authentication comes down to formatting of fact I am told- that
is when all the dots line up;the truths,the facts, the knowns, the
calculated inferrences, and extrapulations resulting, this becomes
your doc. But what order-what guidelines- how far ? Good question now
isnt it ?
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work pleas
From: myoarin-ga on 01 Apr 2006 03:03 PST
 
Yes, good question.  I thought vanweyenbergh had a pretty good outline
of what needs to appear in a certificate of authentication, but I am
sure you saw that, and similar, elsewhere.
I read today that Sotheby's NYC is having an auction of 250 paintings
on April 6th, including Old Masters  - or maybe "Old Masters".  Looks
like a great oportunity for you, a friend or agent to see what
supporting documentation the auction house has.
Subject: Re: Require an example of an art authentication document-contemporary work please.
From: geof-ga on 02 Apr 2006 03:00 PDT
 
Dubois70, I have to say that, having read through the info provided by
Pafalafa and your comments, I'm not absolutely sure what your
remaining difficulties are. Authentications seem to take two main
forms - (a) a formal authentication of a painting etc about which
there is no real doubt as to its authorship; (b) the opinion reached
by an expert on a painting etc where there is such a doubt.

Type (a) authentications may consist of little more than the work's
provenance - ie a simple list of its owners; and perhaps a few words
about the work's style, where it fits into the artist's total oeuvre
etc etc.

But when it comes to type (b) authentications, then the form will
depend on the nature of the work, its potential importance (and
value), the degree of doubt as to authorship, and the method or
working of the particular authenticator - eg some may lay more stress
on the brush-work of a canvas; some on its composition; others may
authenticate by a process of elimination of other candidates. For the
most important works - eg by old masters like Rembrandt - and
especially where a previous attribution is being challenged, every
weapon in the armory of the expert will be employed, and the final
document may be very long and complex.

Where I think you may be having some difficulty is in accepting that,
at the end of the day, an authentication of a work of art where there
is doubt as to authorship, is nothing more than an OPINION which may
well be open to dispute.

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