Commanding , intimidating–this book leaves one guarded about who and what to believe, with respect to the history of ownership of any artwork one might purchase, especially if it is substantial in price. Substantial, but if it is priced too low, this could be your first clue to run don’t walk away!
- Could it be stolen art? OR
- Could it be a forgery?
Provenance, the tracking of when and from whom it was purchased, added to whom had owned it prior to its current owner, can be fictionalized causing a normally cautious buyer to drop their guard. We can be psychologically comforted by the belief that an informed collector previously owned an item when considering an item for purchase.
This book reveals that highly practiced art dealers are fooled less readily, but nevertheless they are victimized along with art collecting novices.
Provenance presents an additional role for an art appraiser to play for collectors. Hire them to research the validity of a provenance provided to perspective buyers, not just to perform valuations as of the prospective date of purchase.
This book is important for those art purchasers who would like to avoid imprudent purchases.
Corinne Cain of SavvyCollector.com