Art fraud expert
for art authentication

The need

Attorneys at a top law firm needed an expert in art fraud and art authentication to consult in a lawsuit regarding the possible forgery of a selection of paintings in a private collection of works of an artist of note. The case was multi-faceted as the paintings in question came from one seller but had been purchased both directly and indirectly from a prominent auction house. Their authenticity was called into question when the collector lent the paintings out for an exhibit and experts raised doubts about the authenticity of all paintings obtained from the seller.

Our approach

From discussions with the client it was clear that this search would need to be a top priority as the time frame was extremely tight. Furthermore, due to the complexity of the project the search itself would be very nuanced. The expert would need to be able to advise the client on the feasibility of authenticating the origin of the paintings and confirm whether the paintings were authentic works. Furthermore, the expert would need to determine whether the opposing expert’s methods of authentication were reliable and whether the paintings could have been forged by the person alleged by plaintiff. Finally, the expert would need to provide information to help determine whether the plaintiff exercised the appropriate amount of due diligence in authenticating the paintings before making the purchases.

The expert

We found an expert in art fraud who had dedicated her career to investigating art fraud with the ultimate goal of eliminating it. She had worked on many investigations in fine art forgery and art forensics. In addition, she had experience conducting forensic investigations for private collectors on suspected artworks. Furthermore, she has used her expertise to train investigators for several U.S. government entities. Considered top in her field, she lectured on her areas of expertise at prominent institutions all over the globe. Lastly, she held degrees from top universities in the fields of art history and provenance authentication.