What is provenance?

Fakes are everywhere. As such, a painting cannot simply be presumed to be by a particular artist because it bears that artists signature. How prevalent are fakes? In some cases the majority of works on the market bearing an artist signature have been found to be false. Estimates for certain of the most popular modern artists can be as high as a 99 fakes for every legitimate work.

What is the best way to convince the art world that the works in your collection are bonafide?

Establish Provenance

The term provenance is strictly defined as "place or source of origin." Everything has a place of origin, right? So what does it mean when you hear the term "That piece has no provenance?"

In the art world provenance also means that the named place of origin (or creator) of an artwork can be proven. In short, provenance is the documentation proving that the work was executed by a particular artist. As with anything else in life, there are varying degrees of proof which are accepted by collectors.

A complete provenance establishes the entire timeline for an artistic work. Below is one way to achieve complete provenance:

Mr. Smith has a painting by a well known artist. Along with that painting he has a bill of sale from Mr. Johnson, Mr. Johnson's original purchase receipt from Jane Doe Gallery and a catalog from the gallery exhibition with an image of the painting.

Each document links the previous to the next with an unbroken chain of custody. Each is individually verifiable through research or, if the named parties are still alive, checking with them directly. A work with this type of strong provenance would be well accepted by collectors and thus be eligible to be sold at the most reputable auction houses.

Even if you are lacking a complete provenance for a work of art, keep any documentation which you may have. Building a case for legitimacy can happen in many ways. Documents which may be useful in establishing origin are receipts, inventory forms, insurance forms, museum catalogs, gallery catalogs, gallery labels, correspondence or even old photographs. Keep all documents that mentions the work directly.

As with the works themselves though, not all provenance documents are what they appear to be.

For example, you may have heard the name Wolfgang Beltracchi recently. He is the German art forger who got away with forging works by Max Ernst, Fernand Leger and others, all titans of modern art. In order to convince dealers, auction houses and museums of the authenticity of the works, he provided what he claimed were vintage photos of his wife's grandfather's estate with the paintings in the background.

One of the photographs provided by Wolfgang Beltracchi as provenance.

In reality, the photos were recent, staged to look old and artificially aged, complete with his wife playing the role of her grandmother. His works also featured falsified gallery labels and correct period dust meticulously moved from the backs of other paintings to the newly created ones.

Think of a piece of art as being on trial, presumed guilty as a fake unless proven otherwise. It is usually the case that the higher the price of an artwork, the more provenance will be required to complete the transaction. As a buyer, be wary of an artwork with no provenance and be diligent in confirming even the most sound documentation. 

So, if you have no provenance for your artwork, is it worthless? Not necessarily. When no provenance can be found for a piece, the next option is authentication.

What exactly is "Authentication?"
Follow up post is coming soon!