Consider this: There are experts who say that half of the art sold at auction is fake. And it turns out that proving otherwise is no easy task.
As she explores the harsh realities of art collecting – and forgery – reporter Erin Moriarty spoke to a woman struggling to prove the authenticity of a collection of drawings and doodles she bought in early 2017.
When Tracey Finch came across the collection in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the primitive figures and vibrant colors came to mind for one artist.
“Maybe it’s Jean-Michel Basquiat,” he said.
Initially known for his provocative graffiti under the name SAMO, Basquiat became a famous artist in the early 1980s after major New York galleries began showing his work, and other artists, such as Andy Warhol, collaborated with him. In 1988, when Basquiat was 27, he died of a drug overdose.
Finch, an art history major in college, bought more than 100 drawings – some no more than scraps of paper. She believes they are early works by Basquiat, but won’t say exactly how much she paid for them.
“There are thousands. And that’s all untimely to say,” said Finch.
It is every art lover’s fantasy to discover a lost masterpiece, like the nurse in New York who discovered last year that a painting on her wall was, in fact, the work of Jacob Lawrence, a prominent American artist. But what headlines on stories like this often fail to mention is how difficult it can be to prove that a discovery is not a hoax.
“I never thought people could be so rude and suspicious, constantly,” Finch said. “There are even friends who said, ‘You couldn’t possibly get a real job. That’s impossible.'”
What Finch has encountered is par for the course in today’s art world. It’s a largely unregulated business where even the most discerning art collector may end up with fake art.
Sharon Flescher, who runs the International Institute for Art Research, known as IFAR, said she jokes that “the best fakes are still hanging on people’s walls.”
“Because the history of the art world means that many transactions are traditionally done with a handshake,” he said. “It’s accepted in the art world. It’s not necessarily right or wrong. But with rising prices of works of art, it allows a lot of room for hanky panky.”
In October 2021, for example, the owner of a longtime New York gallery pleaded guilty to selling fake antiquities and getting rid of it for three decades.
“The minute you have things of great value – it could be art, it could be antiques, rare comic books, coins, baseball cards, any collectibles – there will be counterfeits because there’s money to be made,” said art authenticator Richard Polsky said.
Polsky, one of only a handful of experts willing to examine a painting to determine whether or not it’s authentic, there’s a lot of money to be made when it comes to Basquiat. In 2017, one painting went for $110 million.
“Authentication is based on two things: what does the object look like and what is its history?” he said. “You read. You look at books. You go to exhibitions. You go to museum shows. Whatever it takes. It’s like people learning about great wines. It’s you have to drink a lot. Well, with art, you have to look a lot.”
But with so much money at stake, some art collectors are not always willing to accept his collections.
“People are very passionate about the art they own and if you say, ‘Look, I’m really sorry, but here’s the evidence: It’s not,'” he said. “They get very upset. And they will come after you.”
With expensive litigation, Polsky said, or something even worse.
“My life was threatened once,” he said.
That’s why even the estates of many well-known artists—Keith Haring, Warhol and Basquiat—will no longer authenticate the work of their own artists. And that is a problem, even for those in the art world.
In June, the FBI raided the Orlando Museum of Art and seized pieces of a Basquiat exhibit after an investigation raised questions about their authenticity. But Tracy Finch, who is convinced that her conclusion is valid, has hired a number of experts to help prove it.
“I have dating ink, handwriting. I now have two art scholars,” he said.
Finch said these experts told her that the ink used was available in 1980 and that the signature seen on some pieces appeared to be genuine. But Richard Polsky, who has not personally examined Finch’s collection, said that she will also have to establish the provenance or how these pieces came to her from Basquiat’s hand.
“Does the backstory make any sense?” he said. “We’ve had people come to us and say, ‘I was one of Basquiat’s lovers. He gave me this as a present.’ I was able to verify that in several cases.”
And that may be Tracey Finch’s biggest challenge. She says she bought these works from an artist named Kevin Doyle, who says he became acquainted with Basquiat in 1980. But Finch said she has no photo of Boyle and Basquiat together or notes from Basquiat in show that they both know each other.
“I never asked for proof. But I believe it,” he said.
Doyle told us the same story that Basquiat gave him the work, but there are still plenty of skeptics.
“There are so many people in the art world who don’t believe it,” said Finch. “They don’t believe the story. But there are people who believe it because they look at the artwork and see what I saw.”
Finch now admits she may never know for sure whether this is the work of a young Basquiat or a skilled forger. Earlier this summer, Finch says she found a buyer who was willing to buy half of her collection – not for the millions she was hoping for, but enough to cover her expenses.
And despite it all, she can’t quite shake the hope that she’s just a thrift store away from finding a lost masterpiece.
