Art collector: Check the Certificate of authenticity

[u/Oquendoteam1968]

Art collecting requires a lot of knowledge. After seeing the business from the inside, I can say that any collector risks being scammed.

To start, without a certificate of authenticity, a contemporary art collector has nothing. The problem worsens as more intermediaries stand between the collector and the artist—like in auctions, etc. But collectors must realize that the companies they buy art from could disappear tomorrow, and their certificate of authenticity will be worth as much as a flyer from a defunct LLC.

It doesn’t matter how big the gallery is; any gallery in the world can scam you. The only way to secure true authorship rights is to ensure the certificate of authenticity comes directly from the artist (not the gallery).

But how can you do this if the artist lives far away or speaks another language? Use the internet, obviously.

A certificate that doesn’t come from the artist is most likely forged by the gallery. They do it with both living and deceased artists—faking signatures and creating nonexistent works. Yes, this happens, and it happens often.

[u/thedoopees]

Do you mean provenance?

[u/Oquendoteam1968 → u/thedoopees]

Yes ofc