For those concerned about identification and authentication
of famous original art, catalogues raisonne are invaluable
information sources. Catalogues raisonne are large illustrated
books used by major auction houses, museums and top dealers to
help identify, date and authenticate prints. They are also a
great starting point for the beginning collector, offering an
illustrated survey and description of the artist's work.
A catalogue raisonne is a book or series of books covering either
the artist's entire body of work or specific areas (paintings,
sculpture, prints, area of prints). They are produced by the
top experts in the field, including professors, gallery owners,
museums curators and the artist’s publishers. Input and
approval is often given by the artist or artist's estate.
While catalogues raisonne vary in quality, a good one will
be extensively illustrated and give most of the essentials of
the artist's original prints. These essentials can include dimensions
of a print, type of printing used (etching, engraving, other),
number of prints, editions, how a print is signed and numbered,
the type of paper used, and so on. A catalogue often includes
helpful biographical and artistic information, such as describing
the printing techniques and styles. Some offer samples of the
artist’s signature. Some catalogues are so lavishly illustrated,
they are worth the price simply as coffee table books and can
be enjoyed by non collectors.
The essentialness of a catalogue raisonne is that it shows
what prints are recognized as genuine works by the artist. While
there will be some legitimate uncatalogued prints, for the most
part the collector should stick to what is catalogued. If a print
for sale is not listed and detailed in a catalogue raisonne or
called genuine by other substantive source (expert opinion, authoritative
article), the collector should not buy.
If the least that collectors of the world did was to determine
if a for sale print is listed as authentic in the catalogue raisonne
and that the bare basics (size, signature, numbering, etc) matches
the catalogue listing, the sale of forgeries and fakes would
be reduced by about 95%.
Obtaining a particular artist's catalogue can be difficult.
While catalogues by some artist's can be bought at popular bookstores,
they are sometimes expensive. Some are extremely difficult to
find. Luckily, a growing number of catalogues are online, including
those of Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall.
For the hard to find catalogues raisonne, the collector should
look high and low. This includes looking at used bookstores,
libraries and asking around. Some galleries or dealers have libraries
and will let collectors reference them.
In an online-auction description, a good seller may tell the
bidders that a print is officially "listed" as genuine,
by listing the catalogue's title, author and the catalogue number
for the print. This is a convenience for the bidders and will
often boost the sales price.
Online sources for finding catalogues raisonne
Free Online Catalogues Raisonne and Information Sources:
John James Audubon: http://www.audubon.org/nas/art.html
brief but useful info page
Marc Chagall: http://chagall.fr
Leroy Neiman: http://www.leroyneiman.com
Neiman’s official site, maintained by his publisher. Includes
commentary for collectors by the artist.
Pablo Picasso: http://www.tamu.edu/mocl/picasso
This site is run by a Texas A & M Professor of Spanish Studies.
Andy Warhol : http://www.warholprints.com
This site is maintained by a gallery that published many of Warhol’s
works. The information is endorsed by the Warhol estate.
Winslow Homer’s Harper’s Woodcuts: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/Winslow_Homer.htm
Not a comprehensive data source, but pictures all of Homer’s
prints for the popular 1800s magazine
Gemini G.E.L. Online Catalogue Raisonne : http://www.nga.gov/gemini/home.htm
Famous printing house, gives great detail on prints made by their
famous printers including Warhol and Lichtenstein. Detailed images.
Titles Search:
The Print Council Index to Oeuvre-Catalogues of Prints by
European and American Artists. This lists about all of the catalogues
raisonne ever published: http://www.printcouncil.org/search.html
Online Booksellers:
Barnes and Noble http://www.bn.com
Amazon http://www.amazon.com
Alibris http://www.alibris.com (Specializes in rare books,
so offers a larger selection)
eBay http://www.ebay.com (Check regularly, and you will often
see rare catalogues for auction.)
Other information sources:
http://www.askart.com
http://www.artnet.com
http://www.artdealers.org
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