Research and due diligence

The method

I carry out art historical research and due diligence on individual works and entire collections. The method works on three independent fronts: the documented history of the work, direct examination of the work itself and, where necessary, scientific analysis. Certificates, opinions and laboratory results are verified and compared with one another: a finding carries weight only if it is confirmed by the others, while a single contrary element may be enough to raise a well-founded doubt. The aim is to identify gaps and issues in good time and to provide a sound documentary basis for those who must give an opinion on authenticity.

Research is useful before a purchase or a sale, but also for works already in a collection: when doubts need to be resolved, before a loan, a donation or borrowing against the work, or before submitting it to the artist's archive or foundation for registration. It often precedes an appraisal, but it is an engagement in its own right.

What I verify

Provenance

I reconstruct the chain of ownership of the work from its creation to the present day: the names, places, dates and circumstances of each change of hands. I draw on archival documents, sale catalogues, monographs, labels and stamps on the back of the work and collectors' marks, as well as the records of gallery and auction house archives. Each document is itself verified, because labels, photographs and letters can also be forged. I also consult the databases of stolen or illegally exported works, bearing in mind that a negative result is not on its own enough to rule out a problem. Complete chains are rare: when there is a gap in the provenance, it is clearly reported and, where possible, explained.

Exhibitions and literature

Exhibition catalogues document the presence of the work in a given exhibition and give its technical details, which must however be checked against the work, because the information, provenance included, is often supplied by the lender. I consult all existing general catalogues and catalogues raisonnés, in their most recent edition, to establish whether and how the work is published in them. Publication must then be compared with the current position of the artist's archive or foundation, because a work published in the past may have been excluded from later editions or by new research. Finally, auction catalogues document the occasions on which the work was offered for sale; the outcome of the sale has to be verified separately.

Archives, certificates and opinions

I check whether the work is registered with the artist's foundation or archive and whether it is included in the catalogue raisonné, bearing in mind that registration often records a submission and does not always express a judgement. I examine certificates and opinions to establish that they refer to the very work under examination (technique, dimensions, date, photographic match): a document that cannot be verifiably linked to it cannot be attributed to it. A certificate remains an opinion, and its weight depends on who signs it: on their qualifications, their published research on the artist and their independence from the market. For this reason I gather and report all opinions, even when they differ.

The work

Verification does not stop at the documents. I examine the work in person, front and back and, where possible, out of its frame: technique, materials, condition, signature and inscriptions, comparing it with documented works by the artist. When scientific analysis is needed, I entrust it to specialised laboratories with a precise question and read the results in the light of the artist's technique and the history of the work, including any restoration. On its own, scientific analysis does not prove the authenticity of a work, but it can bring to light elements that are consistent or inconsistent with its date or attribution. The judgement on authenticity belongs to the specialist scholars of the artist, to the archive or to the foundation; my research provides them, and the client, with a documented dossier on which to base it.

The outcome

The research concludes with a dossier that sets out transparently what is documented, what is not and any inconsistencies, distinguishing facts from interpretations and stating the checks carried out and those excluded from the engagement. The evidence does not always allow a conclusion to be reached: when it is not sufficient, I say so. The dossier remains the property of the client and accompanies the work over time, in support of a sale, an appraisal or a loan.