Attribution

Attribution means authorship, or who is the artist of the painting? That is the question we are requested by our clients to answer. Any painting that has been accurately attributed immediately increases in value. We keep the cost of attribution as minimal as possible for our clients.

There is usually no clear-cut "yes" or "no" answer to the issue of attribution. The broad issues we investigate to determine attribution are:

• Subject
• Style
• Use of materials
• Condition

In combination, these all help us to place the painting in a specific time and place. It is a matter of complex comparative analysis.

We break these down into subsidiary questions, which we systematically study before answering the question of attribution.

In matters of attribution, we perform up to forty-five separate series of analyses.

X-rays and other scientific tests sometimes are essential to clarifying our questions about the painting's condition.

Of course, we completely research the painting in the relevant art historical literature, and plumb the depths of art archives to ferret out the truth about the painting's provenance.

Signatures are not a sure sign of attribution. They sometimes are added to paintings by gallery owners or others trying to sell the painting. Such attribution by after-the-fact signature may be baseless and disingenuous.

Please contact us at info@artexpertswebsite.com or 1-386-676-0160 for more information on our attribution services.

Edgar Degas, "Dancers in Blue," 1895, oil on canvas, Musee d'Orsay, Paris.