How to avoid Britain's fake art
A recent episode of the BBC documentary 'Fake Britain'- highlighted a sophisticated scam involving fake Banksy prints. Art dealer and gallery, artrepublic, offers advice to help consumers avoid fakes when purchasing collectible art.
Choose a respected art dealer to buy from
Choosing a respected, well established gallery over a private seller means the art is far more likely to have been checked for authenticity. Established galleries are more likely to buy direct from an artist or their publisher. Before you buy, check how long the seller has been trading for and whether the gallery has a high street presence as well as an online store.
Be wary buying from a private seller on auction websites
If you've seen an artwork you want to buy online, find an established art dealer - one with a strong history, accessible contact details and preferably a high street gallery somewhere in the UK. This way, if you have any queries after the sale, you can contact the gallery staff and even visit them with your questions.
Do your research and request documentation when applicable
If you're buying a piece by an emerging or high profile artist, usually an invoice from a reputable gallery will provide adequate authentication. However, Banksy originals and limited edition prints should be verified by Pest Control, an organisation which will issue a certificate of authentication for genuine pieces of Banksy art. Other artists may have unique forms of substantiation, for example, street artist Pure Evil uses fingerprint verification. Choose a well-established gallery and ask if they buy directly from the artist or publisher.
Lawrence Alkin, CEO and founder of, artrepublic, comments: "There are important steps an art gallery and dealer can take to safeguard against buying fakes. Of course the safest process for us as an art gallery is to purchase directly from the publisher or artist. We do occasionally buy art from private sellers, but we are always very careful to insist on full provenance in this instance."
Alkin continues: "In the case of Banksy, the Pest Control organisation now exists to verify artwork and limited edition prints, issuing authenticity certificates for each artwork. So, when we buy any Banksy piece, we require an accompanying Pest Control certificate - which we always verify as legitimate with Pest Control. If we hadn't insisted on thorough checks on high profile and collectible art from the beginning, artrepublic wouldn't be here today - there's simply no point in taking a risk when it comes to the authenticity of art."
artrepublic has been trading for 20 years, with galleries in Soho and Brighton as well as an established online presence at artrepublic.com. Limited edition prints and originals from more than 600 artists are available to view and buy online.