Collection: Tout l'art

How Attribution Is Described

The trade uses an established set of terms, and knowing what they mean changes how you read any description. A work given simply with an artist's full name is being offered as by that artist. Attributed to indicates a work probably by the artist, on the balance of the evidence, but without the certainty the full name implies. Studio of means produced in the artist's workshop, possibly under supervision. Circle of places a work in the artist's immediate orbit and period. Follower of describes someone working in the artist's style, not necessarily a pupil and not necessarily contemporary. Manner of indicates the style but a later date. After means a copy of a known composition. Each step down that ladder is a meaningful reduction in certainty, and any dealer who blurs them is not being straight with you.

A signature is evidence rather than proof. Signatures have been added to unsigned pictures for as long as there has been a market for names, and a genuine artist's signature on a genuinely old canvas does not on its own establish that the two began life together. Attribution is built from the whole object: the support, the ground, the pigments and their period, the handling of paint, the stretcher or panel, the labels and stamps on the reverse, and the documented history of the work where one exists. Where a work has been examined by an external specialist, that assessment and its basis belong in the description.

Condition, Restoration and Provenance

Almost every picture of any age has been touched, and restoration is a normal part of the history of a work rather than a mark against it. What matters is the extent, the quality and the disclosure. Ultraviolet light reveals most retouching as darker patches against the fluorescence of aged varnish, and a work showing extensive overpaint across the principal passages is a different proposition from one with scattered small retouches at the edges. Relining, cradling and old repairs are similarly common and similarly worth knowing about.

Provenance, meaning the documented chain of ownership, adds considerably to a work and its absence is not a red flag in itself. Most pictures in private hands have passed through generations without paperwork. Where a history exists, whether through exhibition labels, dealer stamps, sale records or family documentation, it should be stated accurately and not embellished. We describe condition, restoration and provenance as we find them, and our team is available to discuss the evidence behind any individual work.

Living With Art

The three things that damage art are light, moisture and movement. Ultraviolet light fades pigments irreversibly, and works on paper are far more vulnerable than works in oil. Humidity swings cause canvases to slacken and tighten, panels and frames to move, and mould to develop in warm, still conditions, which is a genuine consideration in much of Australia. Hang works on interior walls rather than external ones, away from direct sun, bathrooms, kitchens and air conditioning outlets, and use two fixings rated well above the actual weight. Dust frames with a soft dry brush, never a damp cloth, and never clean the surface of a picture yourself, since household products and even water remove paint, glaze and varnish permanently.