A suggestion was made that we consider posting a tutorial to help collectors authenticate artwork. Art appraisal and authentication is a specialized field that requires a lot of study; unfortunately, for a long time this area has not been addressed in a professional manner. But that is changing…noted Haitian artist Marcel Wah has recently founded The Haitian Art Education and Appraisal Society, Inc. This website is dedicated to the cataloging of, and education about Haitian art. We are members of this society and hope that it will help bring stability to the market.

While we can’t offer a true tutorial, I can offer these pointers:

View other works by the same artist to determine if the style, subject and signature are similar to the work you are considering. Keep in mind that over an artist’s professional lifetime all these things may vary.

Subject and style - Some artists often paint many different subjects while others may only paint one subject. If an artist is known for market scenes and you are shown a landscape you need to do your research. It may be a very old painting or a newer style…or it could be a fake. Older paintings, paintings done before an artist found his style are not necessarily valued differently than the ones that he/she is known for…do your research.

Signature – Some artists have signed every painting in the same way on the same spot on the canvas. Others may have signed in different places on the canvas. Even more confusing, some have changed the way they sign over the years; changing from full name to only last name or abbreviating a part of the name. Sometimes they might date a painting, other times not. Again, do your research.

Much has been made about price and how it implies value. This is always true, but it is coupled with another valuable tool…know your source. Yes, a number of Jonathan Demme paintings went at auction for far below their expected market price. This does not imply that these paintings are not authentic. One can know and trust the source of these paintings, Jonathan Demme, a noted artist and collector with an impeccable reputation. The fact of the matter is that attendance was very low at this auction due to lack of publicity and this resulted in some very good bargains! The same cannot be said for auction sites like ebay where the integrity of the seller is not verified by an outside source. The buyer is left to judge for himself, and only has past performance and limited communication to go by. We advise caution.

Really, short of buying from the artists themselves, the best advice and the surest way to avoid costly mistakes is to:

Do your research!
Know your source!