Anyone a Marc Chagall Specialist???

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DTWDSM

DTWDSM

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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My wife's father passed away this past November and as we have been going through his house we have found 2 Chagall lithographs from 1960, from his Bible series. I have done some research on the internet and have found values for them that range from a few thousand to 750,000 Euros (over $900K) for the same print.

I don't know what I should be looking for, I have not taken them out of the frames yet, they are hinged from what I can see, and were framed in the early 60's. Titles are "The Green Donkey" and "The Tree of Knowledge"

Anyone know anything about these or know of someone who is a Chagall specialist?

Thanks
 
Sounds like you're going to need a professional appraiser. I'm no expert, but that higher figure sounds rather... high. There are a lot of Chagall prints from that era floating around. Many are from European books or folios. The values are all over the map. Hope these turn out to be the "good stuff". Let us know what you find out.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick

P.S. Do you know where he got them?
 
Rick Granick said:
P.S. Do you know where he got them?
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Provenance is going to be the key to establishing authenticity~value. I don't think the Long Island counterfiet ring was operating as early as 1960, so you've got that going for you.
I believe all the major auction houses have a free online appraisal service. You will need good photos front and back.
 
I'm no expert, but my father-in-law was a major Chagall fan and had collected a number of prints. As others have said, provenance is key. When you're going through his papers see if you can find sales receipts for any artwork or collectibles. And yes, a professional appraisal is in order. If you have provenance that can help the appraiser enormously.
 
Not knowing much about the art world I bought some "signed" "Chagall's" from a company that had a show room in the "Mercandise Mart" in Chicago in 1972 when I first opened my Gallery. These we all framed and ready to go for $50.00. I retailed them for $150.00. Many were of the Bible series. They came with all kinds of paper work that were very impressive. Sold a ton of them. Also had Calder, Miro and Dali ones too for the same prices. A few years later it become evident what they were and I quit selling them.

Then in about 1980 I came accross the same images at a are wholesaler in New York City. This time they were about 75$ unframed also came with alot of impressive paper work I sold them unframed for $150. I knew they were fakes and I told my customers that they were. People still loved buying them.

What I don;t understand is that people always worry about a "COA" or a "Provenance" that can be faked too. After all if I can fake a piece of art and a signature why not a "COA" or a "Provenance" ?

Many top museum have been punked on million dollar works of art. And are afraid to let this information public as it makes them look bad and will loose financial support. If top musuems in the world get punked don;t that say its very difficult for the common guy to find out the "value" and legitmacy of the art?

Dali, Miro, Calder and Chagall have been the biggest frauded works of art in the world forever. There are many many stories about the 4 artists works that have been frauded.
 
Actually these are not "signed" by him which actually gives me a little more hope that they are not fakes since the edition was of 6500 non signed pieces. I need to take them apart to see if there is another black and white image on the back, a remarque, to give me another clue as to the authenticity.

No records as to where they were purchased from, there is a few things handwritten on the back dustcover but no sticker to identify it's origin.
 
FramerDave said:
I hope you don't find November and December printed on the back of them.
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Yes, everybody knows the earlier ones like January and February are the more valuable ones.:faintthud:


I'm hoping you got the real stuff. Woulldn't it be nice if a framer were to find something of value rather than some garage sale patron for a change.:beer:
 
The real authenticator is the Comite Chagall in Paris. I couldn't find an address.

Since it's a print, whether or not the image is authentic has probably been established, though this particular piece of paper may have been printed post-edition or something.

Check the 'Sold Lot Archive' at sothebys.com. It's a place to start.
 
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