Certificates of Authenticity are required by California law to be included with any sale of fine art multiples in or out of the state. The Certificate of Authenticity guarantees the authenticity of the accompanying piece.
Artist Name: The name of the artist in its entirety must be included.
Signature: Information about any signature present must be included; i.e. whether it is hand-signed by the artist, stamped, etc.
Medium: a detailed breakdown of the medium must be included.
Editions: Full information about all the editions pulled from the master should be included to the best of your ability, including numbered editions, artist’s proofs, printer proof’s and any other impressions taken.
Year: The year that the print was made should be included. For some artists, this may be a date range, which is acceptable.
Dimensions: Full dimensions should be listed. For works on paper, image size, sheet size, and frame size will be included. For sculptures, dimensions are applicable.
Catalogue raisonné: Citations of catalogues that document that work will be included in their entirety, including the catalogue raisonné number or page number. Read more about the meaning of a catalogue raisonné.
A Few Further Notes…
It may sometimes be difficult to ensure exact specificity of information for older prints where there may not be complete extant records. In cases such as these, approximate date ranges are appropriate and all editions that are known to the dealer should be disclosed to the best of their ability.
Proper terminology should be used in describing the medium of the print, the edition and any annotations that may be present. You can find more information about fine art multiple terminology by reading our articles about printmaking techniques and print annotations.
