Page 64 - Studio International - March 1967

Art prices it is to be held responsible for what it says, disclaim would have good grounds for an action in law.
not worth the money paid for it, the purchaser
liability. This it does. The conditions of sale state
current plainly, 'All lots are sold as shown with all faults, Although, like collectors, sale-rooms, and museums,
dealers sometimes make mistakes, no reputable
imperfections, and errors of description'. No sale-
room will make any kind of warranty whatsoever dealer would contest a legitimate claim when his
as to authenticity, condition, or even the title of attention had been drawn to an error. Of course,
the vendor. They act only as agents for the vendor. to succeed in such an action it would be necessary
In the case of modern paintings the major galleries to provide sound evidence that the work had been
make an exception. If, within three weeks after misdescribed, and this means satisfying a judge
the sale, they, or the experts they consult, deter- whose standards of what constitutes adequate
mine that there is a valid doubt of the attribution, proof will be strict and objective, but this is a very
and the work is returned to them within that time, unlikely contingency if the buyer acquires from a
they may (i.e. at their discretion) rescind the sale. gallery with a reputation to lose.
Catalogue codes Strictly, if the purchaser's expert advisers are The Description of Goods Act is a long overdue
convinced that a painting is not authentic, the measure in other fields which will bring this country
by George Savage
sale-room is not bound under this provision to into line with others, notably the United States,
accept its return. The condition lays down that especially in the field of packaged goods where
they, or their experts, must be convinced. In the chicanery is rife, but the difficulty of drafting
case of the major sale-rooms this is not particularly legislation which could govern the description of
Focus, the magazine of the Consumer Council, is onerous. They would be unlikely to want to adhere works of art is insuperable, and it is not, in my
taking an interest in the description of works of to the provision in question if satisfactory proof opinion, necessary.
art offered at auction. The Times has been speculat- were forthcoming from the purchaser's side and After many years enjoyably spent in the art-trade
ing on the possible effect of the forthcoming Des- the work were returned within the time specified, I have always been surprised at the standard of
cription of Goods Act on the art-trade in general, but a purchaser, whatever his justification, would honesty among well-established dealers, which
and on the attribution of modern paintings find it virtually impossible to rescind a sale in the seems to me to be a great deal higher than in most
especially. The matter has been brought to notice face of opposition. other fields of human activity. It is, however,
by misunderstandings of the long-standing and far The situation could hardly be otherwise, and quite understandable. A single deliberate act of
from complicated system by which sale-rooms every case has to be treated on its merits. The sale- dishonesty would ruin a reputation and a business
signal their opinion of what they offer. Briefly this room has to pay the vendor, and could not accept built up by years of patient endeavour. It is a
works more or less as follows in the principal sale- a position in which no time-limit was imposed. chance not worth taking, and it is very rarely taken.
rooms: if a painting is catalogued as by 'Paul This might lead to claims being received years
Cézanne' it means 'we have no doubt of the after a sale. If they were prepared in every case to
attribution'; if as by 'P. Cézanne' it indicates 'in accept the verdict of experts other than their own,
the style of Cézanne, but the attribution is open then it would become essential to specify which
to doubt'; and if merely as by `Cézanne' it means experts. Mr Justice Black in a famous American Minor modern works sold at Parke-Bernet in
`school of or 'in his style'. The art of understanding case told the jury: 'You will be wary of accepting New York
auction catalogues does not, of course, end here. the conclusions of experts. Because a man says he Bernard, Emile Paysage Signed. 251 X 32 in. Ac-
It is essential always to read between the lines to is an expert it does not make him one. An expert companied by a certificate from Michel-Ange Bernard
find out exactly what the auction-room thinks of is no better than his knowledge.' Fort, dated Paris, March 10, 1966—$700; La Route
any particular work. For instance, the inclusion The situation is by no means as clear cut as some (path bordered by autumn trees) Signed, date 1921.
of a photograph suggests that the work is regarded would like us to believe. Even the appointment of 32¾ x 39 in. With a certificate from M.-A. B. Fort
as of more than usually good quality, and if a lot official experts, as in France and some other dated Paris, April 5, 1966—$650; Bombois, Camille
of trouble has been taken to supply additional Continental countries, does not solve the problem, Nature Morte (A lobster, bread, wine and fruit on a
information—exhibitions in which a work has been and their decisions are often arbitrary and open to table-top) Signed. 21 x 25½ in.—$3,700; Une Partie du
included, books in which it has been illustrated, doubt. Pont sur la Dordogne Two figures and a boat beneath a
bridge with trees. Signed, and also signed on the
and so forth— competition is likely to be keen. A Buying from a well-established dealer is usually a stretcher. Painted c. 1950. 7½ x 10¾ in. Acquired from
single page devoted to one lot also points to the safer way of making a purchase than from an the artist—$3,250; Buffet, Bernard Nature Morte aux
auction-gallery's opinion of it. auction-room. His descriptive invoice forms the Fleurs Lilies in vases on a table-top. Signed and dated
This practice is more or less the only alternative foundation of a contract between buyer and seller '55. 38¼ x 51½ in.—$l,600; Nature Morte avec la The
to describing objects in terms either eulogistic or which has a legal basis that the catalogue descrip- d'un Sanglier Wine-glasses and bottles with a boar's
derogatory, which would be open to suspicion and tion of an auction house does not possess, and if head. Signed and dated '52. 35 x 57½ in.—$l,600;
take the sale-room employing such methods into satisfactory proof can later be produced that the Derain, Andre Portrait de Femme Assise Woman seated
very deep waters. In the sale of works of art so object has been seriously misdescribed, and was wearing a dark blue shawl. Signed. 134 x 9 in. With
much must be opinion, and objective fact is not
always easy to come by. It is quite possible to be
certain of provenance to a degree sufficient to
satisfy a reasonable man—the lawyers' man on the
Clapham omnibus'— without being able to estab-
lish it beyond doubt according to the strictest
possible standards of proof, which is rarely possible.
The authenticity of any work of art relies for most
of the time on the consensus of informed opinion.
The question must inevitably arise: How essential
is a catalogue, and what is its true function?
Strictly, of course, it would be quite possible to
hold a sale without one, and identify the lots by
numbers, leaving the purchaser to make up his
own mind. It would be possible to provide a
catalogue listing only the most indisputable and
objective facts— 'oil-painting on canvas, signed
Klee and dated 1938'. Since the art-trade is inter-
national a descriptive catalogue is essential for
out-of-town buyers, but directly a sale-room goes
further than the strictest objectivity it must, unless
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