The Expert versus the Object Judging Fakes and False Attributions in the Visual Arts

by Spencer, Ronald D.; Thaw, Eugene Victor

• ISBN13: 9780195147353
• ISBN10: 0195147359
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-04-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The authenticity of visual art has always commanded the attention of experts, dealers, collectors, and the art-minded public. Is it "real" or "original" is a way of asking, what am I buying? What do I own? What am I looking at? And today more sophisticated questions are being asked: How is authenticity determined and what weight does this determination have in court? This book of essays proposes to answer these questions.

Author Biography

Ronald D. Spencer is counsel to the New York City law firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP where he specializes in art law and foundation law. He is expert in the legal aspects of art authentication issues, advises several committees and boards of art authentication experts, and has helped defend legal claims involving decisions on authenticity.

Table of Contents

Foreward	ix
EUGENE VICTOR THAW
Introduction	xi
RONALD D. SPENCER
Part I Authentication and Connoisseurship
1 Authenticating the Attribution of Art: Connoisseurship and the Law in the Judging of Forgeries, Copies, and False Attributions	3	(26)
FRANCIS V. O'CONNOR
2 Rembrandt and a Brief History of Connoisseurship	29	(10)
PETER C. SUTTON
3 On Forgeries	39	(6)
MAX J. FRIEDLÄNDER
4 Issues of Authenticity in the Auction House	45	(10)
JOHN L. TANCOCK
5 The Catalogue Raisonné	55	(8)
MICHAEL FINDLAY
6 The Role of the Catalogue Raisonné in the Art Market	63	(10)
PETER KRAUS
7 "The Authentic Will Win Out"	73	(6)
EUGENE V. THAW INTERVIEWED BY RONALD D. SPENCER
8 Attributing Old Master Drawings	79	(10)
NOËL ANNESLEY
9 Signature Identification: From Pen Stroke to Brush Stroke	89	(6)
PATRICIA SIEGEL
10 The International Foundation for Art Research	95	(8)
SHARON FLESCHER
11 Museums and Authenticity Issues	103	(8)
SAMUEL SACHS II INTERVIEWED BY RONALD D. SPENCER
12 Examining the Techniques and Materials of Paintings	111	(14)
AUSTIN S. LEVENSON
13 Preservation and Authenticity in Contemporary Art	125	(10)
RUSTIN S. LEVENSON
Part II Authentication and the Law
14 The Art Expert, the Law, and Real Life	135	(8)
THEODORE E. STEBBINS, JR.
15 The Risk of Legal Liability for Attributions of Visual Art	143	(46)
RONALD D. SPENCER
16 Authentication in Court: Factors Considered and Standards Proposed	189	(28)
RONALD D. SPENCER
17 A Legal Decision in New York Gives Experts Protection for Their Opinions on Authenticity	217	(10)
RONALD D. SPENCER
18 Establishing Authenticity in French Law	227	(8)
VAN KIRK REEVES
Index	235