Los Angeles auctioneer Peter Loughrey offers a tale of aesthetic detective work

Occasionally I am asked by a potential purchaser, “How do you know this is real?” Although I’m tempted to answer with a quip about ontology, I know the question is not about philosophy. It’s really about proof—documented proof—of authenticity. What it comes down to is this:

"I prove it and you’ll buy it.”

With modern furniture, such concerns can often be satisfied by simply pointing to a label or showing the purchaser a book that features the design. But fine art is much trickier. Recently, I represented a painting by Keith Haring that had apparently never been published. The seller, who was the original owner, had acquired it directly from the artist, and it had never been exhibited. While it had a bold, confident signature, I knew the painting would have to be authenticated before I could sell it. Fortunately, Haring’s works can be reviewed by the Keith Haring Foundation—the recognized authority on the artist’s work.

Ideally an organization like this has the ability to check its records and supply confirmation by way of the artist’s own notes, photographs, or receipts, and provide a smoking gun, if you will. Absent that gun, its opinion is considered conclusive.

I submitted detailed photographs of the work, but the foundation was reluctant to render an opinion and requested a better image of the signature. Getting a tight close-up of the signature meant removing the piece from the original frame. When I did so, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before: a distinct and clear fingerprint in the signature. It appeared to have been left while the paint was wet. I excitedly informed the foundation, but the people there logically reasoned it could be anyone’s fingerprint—perhaps even the framer’s—and in any case they didn’t have Haring’s fingerprints on file. However, they were intrigued. Haring, when making his early chalk drawings on subway hoardings, had been arrested several times for vandalism. The foundation contacted the New York Police Department to see if it could access his fingerprints. Amazingly, the NYPD sent digital images of the prints to the foundation the same day. Shortly thereafter, the foundation sent me an email saying it was ready to issue an opinion that the work was authentic.

The opinion itself didn’t change anything about the painting. It simply gave the buyer confidence in its
authenticity. Or, to put it another way, an answer to the question ”How do I know it’s real?” What Plato would think is another matter. M

Above: This untitled 1981 Keith Haring painting sold at LAMA's December 6, 2009 auction for $88,812, off of a pre-sale estimate of $25,000 to $35,000.