Authenticity Issues and the Law

Dedalus Foundation
Dec 18, 2012 2:58PM

Jack Flam was a speaker at the panel, "Authenticity Issues and the Law," at the Appraisers Association of America Art Law Day, at New York University, on November 9, 2012. He discussed how important it was for artist-endowed foundations to protect the integrity of the artist's work - which includes protecting the artist's legacy against being corrupted by fakes. Accordingly, he took the position that despite certain legal risks such foundations should continue to give opinions about the authenticity of works. He then described two kinds of solutions to dealing with the legal risks: changes in legislation, and the creation of a professional organization that would offer opinions about authenticity. He also advised the audience, composed mostly of appraisers and lawyers, about how to exercise due diligence with regard to provenance and claims about previous expert opinions by going back to primary sources and checking out in detail all such claims and descriptions of ownership.

Dedalus Foundation