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INTERNATIONAL FINE ART CONSULTANTS - ART AUTHENTICATION INVESTIGATION & RESEARCH EXPERTS 

ARTIST ATTRIBUTION ANALYSTS - PROVENANCE VERIFICATION -  FAKE & FORGERY DETECTION - ART FRAUD INVESTIGATORS  

  DUE DILIGENCE SCRUTINY - ACQUISITION & FINE ART ASSET MANAGEMENT 

CONSULTANTS INTERNATIONAUX DES BEAUX-ARTS - EXPERTS EN RECHERCHE ET ENQUÊTE SUR L'AUTHENTIFICATION DE L'ART

ANALYSTES D'ATTRIBUTION D'ARTISTES - VÉRIFICATION DE LA PROVENANCE - DÉTECTION DE FAUX ET DE FAUX - ENQUÊTEURS DE FRAUDE D'ART

CONTRÔLE DE LA DUE DILIGENCE - GESTION DES ACQUISITION ET DES BEAUX-ARTS

 

 

 

Canadian Fine Art Authentication

 

 Canadian art  developed and followed all genres from history painting to portraiture, indigenous art to folk art and has long been a collectors favourite, with both homespun Canadian art collectors and international art investors alike.

 It seemed to blossom and grow up overnight with the first million dollar painting coming from Canadian Group of Seven artist Tom Thomson. After that it as a matter of course, along came even more serious minded fakers and amongst them a British forger called Tom Keating. He was a self professed dodgy character, but a talented artist none the less. He concentrated all his efforts on Canada's most famous and popular artist of the 1800's, Cornelius David Kreighoff. The Dutchman who settled in Canada, Krieghoff depicted beautifully the historic Canadian landscape and its people, both indigenous and the settler and was and still is hugely collectible.

 Keating claimed before he died to have painted over 150 Cornelius Krieghoff paintings which were introduced and sold into the market and until today have never been identified. This fact remains undisputed, as Krieghoff is one of Canada's most faked artists.

I was privileged to be invited to visit the elegant mansion of Frank Sobey in Nova Scotia some years ago to examine his now famed Canadian art collection and was enthralled to see a dining room full of Kreighoff's beautiful paintings, but our Mr. Keating did cross my mind ?

But rest assured, Kreighoff is not the only faked Canada in based artist. You only need to look at the indigenous Canadian art market, at maritime folk art and of course, anything vaguely like the product of the Group of Seven which can grow a new signature overnight.

 

  We are international fine art consultants and investigators with bases also in the UK and Europe, specialising in conducting full investigations into the authenticity of works of art created by Canadian artists in all categories, regions and from all historical eras.

We scrutinize and verify provenance and have been confidentially serving and advising both private individuals and corporate clients from around the world for over 45 years.

 The duration and the direction of any authenticity investigation or an attribution of a work of art will inevitably vary from project to project. But there are clear and very well defined professional formalities, responsibilities and areas of scrutiny that we can formally assist you with, including:

 

  • Authentication: Authentification:   Conducting comprehensive investigations and in depth research into a work of art with a view to establishing a correct, complete and formally recognized certification. One absolutely upheld by the appropriate, legally acknowledged and internationally sanctioned authority, body or expert on that given artist. Directing detailed and complicated inquiries, with multilingual capability, including any international academic research and forensic applications that are required.

 

  •  Attribution: Identifying and confirming the identity of a previously anonymous artist, studio or workshop from which a work of art most likely originated. Including the re-examination and investigation of a previous attribution which may be incorrect, or the scrutiny of an attribution that has been formally questioned or is currently doubted.

 

 

  •  Confirmation:  Undertaking research and investigations into the legitimacy of the provenance, history and prior ownership of a work of art and establishing its accuracy and legitimacy.

 

  •  Scrutiny: Examen minutieux:Identifying fake or faux works of art and forgeries, including any false supportive accompanying documentation and determining works of art which may be studio or later copies, or previously given incorrect attributions.

 

  •  Prosecution: Poursuite: Investigating alleged art fraud and forgery and assisting and advising those who are currently , or may be considering litigating or prosecuting the fact. This includes colleagues who are legal professionals and individual private clients.

 

  •  Attention: Conducting all fine art related due diligence and duty of care inquiries. Including safe prepurchase or sale related audits and assisting clients in consolidating a well balanced future family distribution.

 

 

  •  Appraisal: Évaluation - Valuations and condition reports.

 

 

 

 

Step one in the Art Authentication and Attribution process.

The Pre-Authentication Assessment

 

    Before you begin any authenticity, legitimacy, or artist attribution investigation, it is wise to have an impartial preliminary assessment of the viability of the project conducted first. One made to independently and rationally balance any negative issues there may be against the positive. You should treat this study as a safety net.

 We will be happy to professionally undertake this for you, based upon good quality images that you supply and all the known facts regarding its acquisition, the history and provenance of the work of art as is known to you.

You will then have a far better understanding of the prospects and indeed the possible pitfalls that could lie ahead.

See our FAQ's for details of the process

 

CONTACT US

CONTACTEZ NOUS

 

We will respond to you promptly.

 

 

  Avant d'entreprendre une enquête sur l'authenticité d'une œuvre d'art ou l'attribution d'un artiste, il est plus que prudent de procéder à une évaluation impartiale de sa faisabilité. Ceci est fait pour équilibrer indépendamment tous les problèmes négatifs qui peuvent exister contre le positif.

Nous serons heureux d'entreprendre cette étude d'une manière professionnelle pour vous que nous considérons comme votre principal filet de sécurité.
Il sera basé sur les images que vous fournissez et tous les faits connus concernant votre acquisition, son passé et la provenance de l'œuvre telle que vous la connaissez. Vous aurez alors une meilleure compréhension des perspectives et des difficultés éventuelles à venir, avant de prendre une décision.

 

         

 

 

CANADA'S  MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING

Paul Kane: 'Scene in the Northwest: Portrait of John Henry Lefroy.'

 The most expensive painting to sell at auction in Canada is still Paul Kane above.

A Portrait of John Henry Lefroy" which sold

for $5,062,500 (5.5 Million) dollars in 2002.

 

 

 

Aboriginal Art & Fakes

  Some of Canada's best 'Canadian' masterpieces can be attributed to a monumental First Nation talent called Norval Morriseau. whose life and times is covered well by other commentators, however, he is not the only great first nation talent.

 Norval Morrisseau, a native Ojibway, was a giant amongst North American aboriginal artists and remains so today. But even before his death in 2007, Norval Morrisseau works of art were appearing on the art market which he had nothing at all to do with creating.

It is something a difficult yet strange situation here, because you have to consider the number of highly principled emulators who worked under and around him during his life. Native students and admirers alike, who were both learning by copying his style and manner and sometimes his actual works themselves, recreating his original works of art religiously.

In the main, this was for sound reasons and this fact should be counterbalance against the down and out crooks whose mind set was to introduce brand new, fake Morriseau works into the Canadian Art market.

 Not so difficult though, as there are some clever schemes which are often reported and effected by using collusion. However, Morriseau is not the only faked aboriginal artist or style that is emulated by any means. Haida art too from the west coast of Canada is big business, with masks, weavings and carvings being amongst the most common faux fodder available in Canada.

Both Inuit Eskimo and Native American art have gained massive international recognition over the past few decades, as highly investable and therefore are valuable art forms. Inuit Eskimo soapstone carvings for instance fetch large amounts of money and with it, a sad reputation for being often falsified and reproduced, as has fake and reproduced scrimshaw.

 

 

 

 

 

Canadian Artist Authentication

 
KREIGHOFF Cornelius HARRIS Lawren Stuart
CARR Emily
CARMICHAEL Franklin
LISMER Arthur JOHNSTON Frank (Franz)
CASSON Alfred Joseph
JACKSON Alexander Young
BARKER Conyers THOMSON Tom
VARLEY Frederick (Fred)
RIOPELLE Jean-Paul
MACDONALD James Edward Hervey LEWIS Maud
GRAY Jack Lorimer
SHILLING Arthur
HOLGATE Edwin Headly PILOT Robert Wakeham
FITZGERALD Lionel LeMoine
FORTIN Marc-Aurèle
CULLEN Maurice Galbraith MORISS James Wilson
GAGNON Clarence Alphonse
LEMIEUX Jean Paul

 

 

 

 

SOME OTHER ART AUTHENTICATION EXPERTISE BY ARTIST

APPEL KAREL
BOUVARD  - Famile.
CORNEILLE  Guillaume Beverloo
CROME JOHN
DOU GERRIT
GRIS JUAN
LAM  WILFREDO
MATISSE HENRI
MONDRIAN   PIET
PISSARRO CAMILLE
RENOIR PIERRE
SPENLOVE-SPENLOVE FRANK
VAN GOGH VINCENT 
CONYERS BARKER
KLINE FRANZ
PECHSTEIN MAX
MUNNINGS Sir Alfred James
DAUMIER HONORE
EDOUARD MANET
PAUL KLEE
AMOS CASSIOLI
 
   

 

 

 

 

LINKS TO SPECIALISMS / GENRES

 
     
OLD MASTER ART
GROUP OF SEVEN AUTHENTICATION
IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART
MARITIME CANADA ART
BRITISH COLUMBIA
ONTARIO
ENGLISH ART AUTHENTICATION
SCOTTISH ART

CORNWALL & CORNISH ART

EUROPEAN ART - AUTHENTICATION
MARINE ART
GERMAN ART
BARBIZON SCHOOL
PORTRAITS & MINIATURES    
 
CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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