6 May 2014

Terms and Conditions of Online Auctions

Recently we came across several murky works that were offered as art works by Constant at an online auction. We got notified and quickly discovered that one of the works was a copy of an existing watercolor, which makes the work an infringement on copyrights. The second was not even close to any of Constant’s works, which makes the work either a misattribution or a forgery. And the last was also a copy of an existing drawing. It seems that this copy was made in an edition since the same drawing had been offered to one of the Dutch museums a few years back and was eventually destroyed after the foundation deemed the work a copy.

Constant Nieuwenhuys- Femme et enfant, 1997
Femme et enfant, 1997
Auction false work offerend-no 1
False work no. 1 offered on auction as 'signed by Constant'
Auction false work offerend- no 2
False work no. 2 offered on auction as 'signed by Constant'
Auction false work offerend-no 3
False work no. 3 offered on auction as 'signed by Constant'
Constant Nieuwenhuys-Interieur met laddertjes, 1960
Interieur met laddertjes, 1960

On the website of the online auction house all works were marked as ‘signed by Constant’. Pictoright started to undertake official legal action, the authorities were notified and the foundation contacted the auction house. Even though the auction house took the works off their website they would not disclose the source of the false works. When we commented on their ethical responsibility as an auction house they referred to their Terms and Conditions in which they specifically state that there is no guarantee that works marked ‘signed by’ are in fact originals from said artist.

Again this goes to show that caution is an absolute necessity in buying art. So-called official parties actually include their untrustworthiness in their Term and Conditions for all to read. My guess is that rarely somebody does…

You can find more tips on what to watch out for when buying art on the website of Fondation Constant here.