Q: I'm thinking about buying a painting that's attributed to a famous artist. According to the seller, a dealer, this means that in his opinion, the painting is probably by the artist, but he can't be sure. So he's attributing it instead. He says he hasn't shown it to an expert; that's for me to do.

The painting costs a lot less money than other paintings by the artist, but it's still not cheap at $30,000. I'm thinking about buying it because if it's by the artist, it's worth $500,000-$700,000. Should I? Can you tell me about attributions? What are my chances are of getting the painting authenticated or proving that it's by the artist?

A: Let's answer the last question first. Your chances of getting the painting authenticated are ZERO. To repeat, you have NO chance of proving that this painting is by the artist that the dealer attributes it to. In the great majority of cases when art is attributed, the person making the attribution, in combination with the circumstances surrounding the sale, tell you at least as much, if not more, than the art itself. And this sale (hopefully, non-sale) is no exception.

For starters, when a painting or other work of art is "attributed" to an artist, that means that in the opinion of a knowledgeable and nationally or internationally respected expert, the art is likely to be the work of that artist. The key phrase here is "a knowledgeable expert." Only recognized and respected authorities on an artist are qualified to make attributions that have any credibility in the art community. Ways one becomes a recognized and respected authority include intensive study of the life and art of the artist, personally seeing and examining numerous works of the artist's art, publishing books and/or papers about the artist, giving talks about the artist, personally knowing and/or working with the artist over a significant period of time, being the artist's dealer, or being a family member, relative, or spouse of the artist.

Assuming the individual making an attribution is qualified to make it, for that attribution to be taken seriously, it must explain in detail why the work of art in question appears to be by the hand of the artist, and it must support all claims with facts about the art, the artist, and the artist's career. A credible attribution typically discusses aspects of the art including its size, style, materials, construction, composition, pattern of brush strokes, surface texture, colors, relation of subject matter to subject matters of other known works by the artist, framing, mounting, how the canvas is attached to the stretcher bars, names of suppliers or manufacturers of materials used in the art, signature location, similarity of compositional details to those of other known compositions by the artist, a comparison to other known works created around the same time, and so on.

An attribution is an expository document; it is not a sentence, it is not a verbal statement. It must be in writing, and it must be signed by whoever made it.

An attribution is NOT unsubstantiated or casual remarks such as the following:

* "The signature looks good."

* "It's looks like paintings I've seen in books."

* "It's definitely old."

* "It came from an important estate."

* "It belonged to a well-known collector."

* "The previous owner paid a lot of money for it."

In case you wish to continue your suicide mission, ask the dealer what his qualifications are to make this attribution. Then ask for a detailed explanation of his attribution based on facts about the art and supported with facts about the artist's life and work. Then ask him to put it in writing and sign it. Then ask why, since the painting is attributed to a famous artist, he's selling it for only two to three percent of its potential retail value. Then ask how you have come to be the incredibly fortunate recipient of his largesse.

While you're at it, you might also ask why he hasn't shown the painting to an expert. If you thought you owned a painting that was worth as much as a large house in a nice part of town, wouldn't you show it to an expert and try to get it authenticated? Wouldn't showing it to an expert be really high on your list of priorities?

This seller is a dealer. He knows art and he knows how the art market works. He knows never to let go of anything that has potential value unless he's researched it. He makes every effort to authenticate any work of art that he believes may be by a well-known artist and/or have substantial value. The only dealers who don't do this, or who say they don't, are those deliberately out to deceive. You would do well not to buy this art, and to never do business with this dealer again.