Did anyone attend the "Wagner" auction

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Posted By: davidcycleback

When Dali was old and sick, he was taken advantage of. There are a lot of
Dali forgeries from his later years.

Luckily, there are reliable catalogs for his works that collectors can reference. Also a COA from Albert Field/Dali Archives will reliably indicate the print and signature is genuine, as Field was a world reknown expert on Dali. Any print expert at Sotheby's or The Louvre will know of Field.

Field died a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure you can still get an LOA from the Dali Archives website. The Archives, in NYC, was founded by Field with the approval of Dali himself, and I beleive the will issue LOAs for normal collectors.

It's also noteworthy that the catalogues raisonne (official catalogs of authentic prints) for many famous artists are available for free online, others in book form via amazon.com etc. These are compiled by the top experts, including professors and museum curators. There are online versions for Warhol, Picasso, Chagall and Neiman. Whether buying or selling, that a print matches the listing in the artist's catalogue raisonne (same size, numbering, etc) is a strong indication of authenticity. These guides are used by the museums, Sotheby's and Christies-- but are also perfectly usable by normal collectors.

So, if you are no art expert, and are considering buying an Andy Warhol screen print, ask yourself the questions "Is the print listed in Warhol's catalogue raisonne? And does the print for sale match the catalogue listing?" If the answer to both is Yes, the print is likely authentic-- or, at least, is consistant with being authentic. Considering, the Warhol catalogue raisonne is online with search function, it can take a few minutes to answer the questions.

For a collector or auction house, if a Dali print matches the listing in his catalogues raisonne and comes with a Dali Archives LOA, it is almost certainly authentic. If comes with a Dali Archives LOA signed by Field, even better.

"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad."
-- Salvador Dali.