ART

First, a word about my credentials. Besides a degree in art, and being an artist in my own right, I’ve been collecting artwork since 1974. So I have over three decades of experience. In the early years, I would go to galleries and auction houses. Some were even held on cruise ships. But I didn’t have the luxury of using online resources until the Internet came into common usage in the nineties. Now, places like eBay have become the dominant form of connecting the buyer with the seller on a global scale. For the novice, this may seem like a boon because of all the choices and options available. But there are as many obstacles and pitfalls as opportunities.

Assuming that one is buying art prints from limited editions with hand-signed signatures of the artist. That would be true for the majority of collectors and artwork that changes hands. These type of prints are far more common and affordable. Few of us can afford an original Picasso etching or even a Leroy Neiman painting. Therefore, prints have become the medium of choice. But prints, which can be lithographs, etchings, serigraphs, or giclees have also spawned a new generation of frauds and fakes. Almost anyone can use modern scanners to recreate a print on photo-quality paper and draw a signature that claims to be an original.

The second part of the deceit comes from the COA or “certificate of authenticity” which normally accompanies these prints. The document verifies the artwork, artist, edition number, medium, and other descriptors regarding where the print came from. The problem is the same as the forged signature. Anyone can say that a print is genuine and design a COA on a computer word or drawing program that looks quite official. They can use words such as “documented, official, certified, verified, and authenticated,” all they want. But this doesn’t prove a thing.

Sure, you see the art in a picture online. They tell you it’s a Dali. It looks like many others, but far cheaper. They tell you that they buy directly to cut out the middleman, just like many wholesalers. They will provide the COA’s to prove the signature is real. You send over $500 via PayPal and they ship the print. It arrives and you’re thrilled. The Dali was a tenth of the price of others. The signature looks great. You frame it up and place it on the wall. You will most likely never know it’s a reproduction with a fake signature and never have it authenticated. All your friends and family admire the print and assume it’s real, as do you. So, what does it really matter?

It depends. If you never plan to sell it, it doesn’t. You get to appreciate the piece on the wall and are blissfully ignorant of the falsehood perpetrated upon you. You’ve saved a small fortune and perhaps, secretly, don’t even want to know about the ploy. But what if you do have to sell it? Then the truth will be painful. This is becoming the norm for cheap prints by Dali, Miro, Picasso, Neiman, Chagall, and many others. But there is something you can do.

If you want a genuine article, do your homework and contact or look to the publishing house which releases the prints or a reputable gallery that has a physical location with the artwork on the walls. Research the art house and the artist. Expect to pay top dollar for top artists. Many of their signatures alone are worth a small fortune. Understand that a signed print my just mean the signature is on the print and not hand-signed by the artist after it was made. This is often called “plate-signed.” As for an EBay auction dealer, check their feedback and read their buyers’ comments. Check their return policy, which is also true for any Internet seller. Then buy what you like and do not buy strictly for investment purposes. No one can guarantee the future value of any piece, regardless of what they may claim.

Finally, if your budget is tight and you really want a certain piece for personal enjoyment, buy the knockoff. It’s like the $300 Coach handbag you saw in Mexico for twenty bucks. Who gets hurt if you make that purchase? Even though it helps propagate those producing the fakes, don’t take it personally. There will always be companies that make fakes and serve the masses that can’t afford originals. The only difference is that they operate like the art is for real. My suggestion to those businesses would be to come clean, tell the public they are knockoffs, and be done with it. I’ll bet that very few would stop buying them anyway, but at least we could separate the legitimate dealers from the frauds. And that would ultimately help all the buyers and sellers so they would know exactly where they stand.

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, "Pursuit of the Phoenix." His latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages" which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com. Currently, he is the Marketing Director for http://www.thenurseschoice.com a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.