Provenance

When considering the purchase of an important work of art, ask about its history of ownership. Not all paintings have a detailed provenance, but it pays to ask.

Does every work have a provenance?

Yes, but you may not be able to determine what it is. If a work of art has changed hands many times, a complete list of previous owners may never have been kept.

Authenticity

Determing a works provenance can be an important step in the authenticity process.

Title

Here is an interesting legal term used to describe, in our case, the ownership of a work of art.

Determining if the person you are purchasing a work from has title, or the legal right to sell the work, is extremely difficult.

Most reputable galleries do their ‘due diligence' to be as sure as possible that the individual/individuals they are purchasing a work from is/are the actual owner and/or has the legal right to sell the work.

Please check my ’Articles’ for a more complete understanding of this issue.

Celebrity owners

Previous ownership by a celebrity will increase a works value.