Behind every confident attribution is research: comparing technique against an artist's documented body of work, tracing a piece back through the hands that owned it, and reading the object itself for what it can tell you. When that research is thin or missing, a sale can stall, a price can collapse, and a question over a single work can hang over a collection for years.
I do attribution and provenance research for galleries, auction houses, and private collectors, drawing on seven years inside an auction house examining works across periods and styles. Each case starts with the object and follows the evidence, and what you receive is a clearly sourced, well-documented report you can build on, whether for an internal decision, a catalogue entry, or the file that travels with the work. This is research and documentation, not formal authentication, which is the work of recognized committees and catalogue raisonne authors. Where a case needs that, I tell you, and my research gives you the grounding to take it there.
Want to see the work first? I have written attribution and catalogue texts for Goldens Auction House and Corpus Fine Art, placing works from a 17th-century Caravaggio follower to a contemporary Ukrainian canvas. See seven attribution examples →
Keeping your own records in order makes any attribution or provenance case faster. The free artwork catalog template gives artists and small collections a consistent master inventory. Use this service when a work needs actual research.
What You Get
- Attribution research for paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts
- Provenance research and documentation tracing ownership history
- Research reports for due diligence and internal decisions
- Technique and materials comparison against the artist's known work
- Catalogue raisonne entries and research support for lot descriptions
- Lot-by-lot attribution for auction catalogues, priced per lot
- Consultation on disputed or uncertain attributions
I spent seven years doing attribution research for an auction house, examining thousands of works across periods and styles. I know where to look, what to cross-reference, and how to write a report that holds up when someone reads it closely.
Provenance Research Across Languages and Borders
Provenance often goes quiet exactly where it crosses a border or a language, and that is where most research stalls. I work across the EU, the US, and Latin America, and I read Ukrainian and Russian alongside English and Spanish, which means archives, auction records, and exhibition histories in Cyrillic are open to me rather than a dead end. For Eastern European and Soviet-era works in particular, that reach often makes the difference between a gap in the record and a documented chain of ownership.
For Collectors and Estates
Private collections tend to have the same shape: a handful of works with good paper, a larger group with a signature and a story, and a few pieces that nobody in the family can quite place. The work here is less about a single verdict and more about getting the whole collection into a state where each piece can be sold, insured, lent or inherited without starting from zero.
- Certificate of authenticity review. I check an existing COA against what can be verified about the issuer, the work and its history, and tell you in writing how much weight it carries. See what a strong certificate of authenticity includes.
- Collection cataloguing. A master register for the collection, one entry per work with measurements, photographs, inscriptions and every document tied to its inventory number, following the approach in how to catalog artwork.
- Provenance and attribution research on the works that need it, written up as a report you can show a buyer, an auction house or an insurer.
This is research and writing, not formal authentication, and the proposal sets out the scope and price for your collection before any work starts.
How It Works
Send me images and background
High-resolution photos of the work (front, back, details, signatures, labels). Any documentation you have: receipts, certificates, previous appraisals.
I assess the scope
Within 48 hours, I tell you what research is needed, how long it will take, and what it costs. No surprises.
You receive a documented report
A structured report with findings, sources, and a clearly reasoned attribution assessment. Ready for internal use, due diligence, or sale documentation.
What Clients Say
Thank you for the promptness and the excellent article in the catalog.
Mykhailo Vasylenko
Director of the auction house Goldens
Kyiv, Ukraine
The curatorial text is brilliantly written by an intellectually gifted person who truly knows the subject.
Sergei Sviatchenko
Artist
Viborg, Denmark
Pricing
| Deliverable | Starting price | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Attribution research report (single work) | from €1,500 | 2-4 weeks |
| Provenance research | from €800 | 2-4 weeks |
| Catalogue raisonne entry | from €600 | 1-2 weeks |
| Lot attribution (per lot) | from €70 | 5-7 days |
Collection reviews are quoted per project. These are starting prices, and I reply within 48 hours to talk through the details and build the final quote with you, since I cannot set an exact price without knowing the scope. All prices are in EUR.
