Insight: The importance of researching works in private collections before and after acquisition

Co-written by Georgia Powell of CURA Art and Angelina Giovani of Flynn & Giovani Art Provenance Research

As companies, Cura Art and Flynn & Giovani Art Provenance Research utilise the expertise of many specialists in our field, in order to best serve our clients. We have collaborated to bring together our thoughts on the importance of research in the field of private collecting. Our hope is that our combined insight can demonstrate the shared concern for supporting collectors with the responsible management of their collection.  

Collecting has always been a private and intimate matter for art lovers. Hence, the way that the market has been set up and run since its early days, very much caters to the same mentality of privacy and opacity. While this does come with its own appeal and mystery, it has also long been part of the problem in the art market. Curiously, the desire to collect art is not always accompanied by a need to better understand the story and the historical depth of one’s collection. Rather than a direct shortfall of the collectors themselves, this is more a reflection of the fast paced nature of the market. This has long hindered the development of due diligence standards and provenance research practices. It is only in recent years that a push towards regulation is being felt.

Nevertheless, the dealer market and hence the private buying market, has undergone major change in the past decades. Statistics compiled by Flynn and Giovani Art Provenance Research show that eight out of every ten works commissioned for research are subject to a pending transaction. This marks a great improvement when compared to the pre year 2000 days when a handshake and good faith were enough for a transaction to go ahead and research was rarely needed or requested.

At the same time, it is interesting to observe that much of the change we see taking place in the art world, is as a result of external forces and factors, rather than the market trying to ‘re-invent’ itself. Financial institutions, art funds, and institutional collections are requesting stronger and ideally standardized due diligence practices similar to those regulating other sectors within industries such as finance or real estate. While institutional collections can differ greatly from private ones, the principles of collecting, whether they are for investment or personal purpose, should be aligned.

Many private collectors, while they treasure and value their collections, know very little about them. What can be rather bittersweet at times, is that in many cases, even seasoned collectors, have only found out the stories behind their artworks when they were in the process of parting with them.

There are many reasons why this happens. Many people inherit collections from their parents or grandparents. They are brought up around these works of art and this ever-growing feeling of familiarity that is built up with regular exposure to an artwork can in many cases translate into a false belief that we ‘know the object’ itself. As collections pass from one generation to the next  important details and facts about their acquisition history tend to fall through the cracks of time, making it very hard to reconstruct these narratives of the past. It is a great privilege to have the opportunity to pass down a collection to the next generation, but more often than not questions arise that require the help of professionals to be properly addressed. In most inheritance instances, a lawyer and a researcher are needed to prepare an artwork with the necessary documentation needed for it to be ‘market-ready’ or meet all the criteria required to loan an artwork to an exhibition or museum.

Another issue that is still largely present, is WWII unresolved histories. Millions of objects were displaced during the Second World War but that obviously does not mean that every work in the market has a tainted historical past. At the same time, the offer or suggestion to undertake in depth research into a work of art, is not an implication or assumption of a problematic ownership history. This perception in itself can be rather problematic, as is tends to trigger a defensive response. It has taken researchers and scholars a lot of effort to debunk the notion that the need for due diligence implies there are underlying problems with the works provenance or its good title. An in-depth research into the history of an object can prove beneficial not only in terms of its value, but it can also help address attribution, discover previous owners and their history and help establish the artwork within the historical context it belongs to.

As a buyer, if you are in the process of acquiring a work that is already accompanied by an existing research report, you should still take the opportunity to commission your own research and undertake all the necessary due diligence steps. Only then, can one confidently claim that due diligence has been done to the fullest and the artwork has been acquired in good faith. Turning this into common collector’s practice, will greatly diminish the risk of investment in the long term. For one’s piece of mind it is good to know that a solid way of diminishing the risk of an investment, is to invest on artworks accompanied by healthy and thorough research folders.   

The pre-acquisition research folder should include a comprehensive fact sheet, documentation supporting as much of the provenance information as possible, any previous correspondence with experts and reports addressing the works authenticity (where needed), export licenses, as well as results of any scientific analysis tests undertaken and detailed condition reports. A trained conservator should be consulted when purchasing works that show signs of poor condition, for example, cracks in paintings, oxidation in sculptures, foxing in paper and fading in textiles.

Proper research  and documentation are crucial on both sides of a transaction, whether you are a buyer or a seller. It is very fortunate that we live in a time where there is no shortage of great experts, tools and resources, which should provide collectors with the maximum comfort and security needed to transact with ease and confidence.

With all of this in mind, how else can researching a collection be used to the benefit of the collector, outside of purchase or sale? Recent research published by Vastari in a survey of their collectors suggested that, despite significant growth in art as an investment, 61% of collectors still acquire works as a passion, for connoisseurship or for extending their own interest in a particular artist or culture. Collectors often find great enjoyment in researching a certain artistic genre, and specialise their collecting habit accordingly. Continued research following acquisition, into the particularities of a specific work and its history could extend this fulfilling experience – opening up the world surrounding the work in their possession. Once acquired, immediate access to the work allows for continued and in-depth investigative research and examination.

Prominent works in the permanent collections of museums are subject to extensive research by the curators in charge of their care. This critical assessment and reevaluation of works not only brings them to life, but provides wider context to the history of a culture, or period in time. In recent years, and particularly in the current environment, museums are being priced out of the market, and in most cases acquisitions for permanent collections are becoming rare. Stories of de-accession this year also highlight the fragility of the role of museums as custodians of cultural heritage. In an age where masterpieces are re-emerging on the market and the very best of contemporary works are being snapped up by collectors willing to pay huge figures, the role of the private patron will become vital to the continuation of art historical research. In 30 years’ time, how will works created in the late 20th century and early 21st century, be researched, exhibited and analyzed, if their private owners aren’t willing to acknowledge their significant position in the system?  

We work with supporting and encouraging collectors to fully realize their potential as stewards of artistic and cultural information. One such way is through organising lending works in their collections to exhibitions, but this is only possible once extensive research has been undertaken for the work(s) being offered for loan.

Exhibitions are the perfect way for focused research to be presented, and for otherwise unseen works to be grouped together to tell a story, or provide context for an art historical genre or subject.  Works from private collections can fill significant gaps in museum collections and provide a more comprehensive narrative for a curator. The appetite for exhibitions, and therefore a need for works outside of museums’ collections, has been on the increase, and certainly made a priority by the institutions benefitting from the global recognition and financial benefit. Touring exhibitions such as the V&A’s hugely successful surveys into the careers of David Bowie or Alexander McQueen demonstrate both the increase in audience to the museum, and the interest of the general public. Whilst museums and arts institutions increasingly rely on loans from private collections to stage thematic exhibitions, or in-depth artistic surveys, due diligence needed to ensure that the museum only include authentic and credible works involves scrutiny of a works’ provenance.  

Aside from philanthropic reasoning, there are other benefits to including works from a  collection in museum or gallery shows, which reaffirm the importance of research by a private collector. To have a work in a private collection included in a museum show, not only authenticates it almost beyond reasonable doubt, but also adds a layer of provenance sought after by the art market and future owners of the work. The increased awareness and scholarly interest in a work following its exhibition enhances both its art historical and monetary value, as exhibition credentials become a vital part of assessing a works value. Art market research published by Arttactic discusses the significance of the Basquiat exhibition at the Barbican in 2017 on the exponential growth of the international appetite for his work, and this artist is no exception. Major museum shows are normally accompanied by an exhibition catalogue, this – and other forms of published academic research as a physical record of a work - can be gold dust at the point of valuation of assets or sale.

Another benefit of researching works in a private collection is the discovery of sleepers -  although very rare, misattribution of art works and the exposure of hidden masterpieces does happen.  However, it does not have to be the unearthing of a great masterpiece to add significant value to a collection. We come across works in collections, purchased purely for aesthetic reasons, unattributed, and with a generic theme such as a portrait or landscape. Initial research into a signature, or the inclusion of papers on the reverse can often pinpoint the work to a certain artistic movement, location or even reveal evidence to suggest a certain artist.