How to tell if a painting is old or a reproduction

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Tips on how to identify if a painting is old and original or a copy. Dr. Mark Sublette owner of Medicine Man Gallery shares his twenty five years of experience in the art world on what to look for. Examples of older paintings and what are keys to be looking for before you ever buy.

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How to tell if a painting is old or a reproduction

I look at artwork every day of my life – often to buy and people need my advice of what their piece is, and if its original or not. Today I want to talk about: how do you tell an original piece of artwork, and I specifically kind of hone in on paintings, because what I see all the time are pieces that are reproductions or prints or flat-out fakes and frauds. So, some of the little highlights that you need to know if you're looking to purchase a piece of artwork or if you have a piece of artwork if it's original is: 1) if it's supposedly old and has a date on it, let's say it says 1923, well it should look like it's old. You should turn over the back of the painting, and look. The back of the painting, quite frankly, is going to tell you as much as the front of the painting. If the canvas is very white, and the little sticks that you'll see in the corners that are the little spacer or
the bars that you see around the edge of the painting, if those are very white and have not oxidized, it's not old – it's a new piece, and it's probably jaclay. A jaclay is a copy of an original oil painting piece of artwork. They can be very nice; they can have value, but they're a copy; a photographic copy put on canvas, and the idea is to make it look like the original. And quite frankly, from a photograph when I get them on the internet sometimes you can't tell because it can be a Charlie Russell, and it looks like a Charlie Russell because “Hey, guess what?” It is, but it's a copy; it's a jaclay. So, when you look at the piece in person, you should be able to see individual brushstrokes and thickness and texture to the paint. Those jacylays will often have the brushstrokes, but you'll see kind of a sheen on the top that really just doesn't look right. And then if you turn it around on the back you'll see staples where the canvas has been stapled to the stretcher bars. The stretcher bars, which are the foundation bars, will be. The canvas will be white, (and) there's no oxidation. Charlie Russell was painting at the turn of the century – if you've got that time frame, things are going to happen. Also, the frame will tell you something. If you look at a frame and it is got chips – again, the wood is oxidized, and you may see different holes where it's been used in the past; look at these things. If they look old and feel old and maybe even smell old; if they've been in a smoker’s home for 20-30 years, you'll smell the nicotine. Use your senses, and if that little voice says, “Something's wrong.” Guess what? It is. So, you can't just go buy a history, because I can tell you this: after twenty years of doing this, histories are very easy to fabricate, and people do this, or they just, you know, (have a) family lore (that) says, “Oh, this has been in our family for a hundred years.” Well, the realities of it, (is) take that into consideration, but it's probably the last thing. First, use your own eyes (and) your own senses. Does this feel like it's a painting that's old or not? Remember, people do make frauds and fakes. So, if you're buying older works you have to (and it looks old – well, it could be an old painting that they've signed a name on. I see all the time old paintings where somebody's put Maynard Dixon) you have to know your subject matter, and if it's obviously not his work, not his signature, not his style, then it's not right. The last thing I go on (with) a painting is the signature. That's the very last thing that I take into consideration because the signature is easier to fake than style, composition, and the way the painting looks like. You know, they can be a good forger of the name Maynard Dixon, but they can't do the palette; they can't do the structure
or the composition of the painting. Even if it's an old painting, it just doesn't hack it. So, when you look at these things, be very critical. Look for age, especially on old pieces; they should have a certain sensibility and if they don't, get an expert to look at it before you ever purchase it.

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