"Certificate of Authenticity" for Art Sold at Shows?

Hello,

I will be participating in some art fairs this summer, and was considering creating some sort of sticker or printed piece that would either be attached to the actual back of the artwork, or included in the bag to let customers know that what they have bought is an original artwork. I was thinking this sort of "certificate of authenticity" would include my name, contact info, and a little bit about the piece itself. Is there some sort of standard for doing this for original work, or is just a signature on the piece enough? I have read some artists include a "care card", but for my work- mixed media collage- I don't think "care info" is necessary. I would be interested in knowing what kind of opinions are out there on this topic, thank you.

Replies

Barrie Lynn Bryant May 6, 2014 at 9:48am

Larry's looks nice on his website.

Here's the link to that thread I mentioned:

LIMITED EDITIONS CERTIFICATES

Read through and on to page 2 where the examples are shown. WOOHOO!
- Kelly Brown > Barrie Lynn Bryant May 6, 2014 at 9:57am
  
  Thanks Barrie!
Larry Berman May 6, 2014 at 6:52am

There are no rules, use your best judgement. I designed mine in Word for my 1970's sports pictures, which show my age.

Here's a link to the page on my Sports web site that describes how I package the prints and shows a picture of the certificate:
http://bermansports.com/packaging.htm

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
- Kelly Brown > Larry Berman May 6, 2014 at 9:57am
  
  Thanks very much Larry!
Barrie Lynn Bryant May 6, 2014 at 12:14am

An original work can either be sold without info or with info. I often give original art buyers a BILL OF SALE telling the title of work, price, when it was created, what the medium is, what the substrate is, how the artwork is mounted in the mats, what type of mats are used, info about the handcrafted picture frame, etc. Also my studio address and a short biography. You can get as detailed as you like, but keeping it to one page makes it simple. I also include a provenance listing on the back of the BILL OF SALE which states where I've exhibited the particular artwork and awards it has received if applicable.

I issue a CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY with every limited edition reproduction I sell. Some of us at AFI showed examples of these in another thread, but I have to beg off finding that for you right now since I need to crash. I can't remember exactly which department you'll find that thread in, but it's here and it wasn't too long ago.

WOOHOO!