What is Authentic Aboriginal Art & Provenance?

Authentic Aboriginal Art & Provenance

Authenticity and high quality provenance is critical to the
health of the Aboriginal art sector. Authenticity is concerned
with the actual artist/s being correctly acknowledged and attributed.

Provenance describes the source and history of ownership of an artwork, how the work was created and how it arrived in the market. The best Aboriginal artworks will always have irrefutable provenance, with the artists clearly acknowledged and a transparent history from artist to gallery.

Western Desert Mob links a network of community based Art Centres with partner galleries who are strong supporters and advocates of our values, to ensure both artist and investor benefit from the sale of artworks.

It is our guarantee that all Western Desert Mob art is authentic and with strong provenance, produced within Aboriginal owned enterprises, where the artist and community benefit – a clear ethical choice for investors.

How To Buy Authentic Aboriginal Art?

The keys to buying the highest quality Aboriginal art are seeking information and asking questions.

There is a multitude of information available about the artistic, historical and cultural aspects of Aboriginal art. This material will add layers of knowledge, yielding a much richer understanding of the art, artists and Aboriginal Australia.

Questions to ask and things to look for:

* Does the gallery have a reliable and transparent operating history?

* Does the gallery have a coherent selection of work, linked by style, quality, materials or geography?

* Where does the gallery source its artworks?

* Is it a souvenir shop, full of anonymous tourist paraphernalia or a gallery offering quality products?

Questions to ask and things to look for:

* Is the merchandise made in Australia?

* Are connections to the artists’ community, Country or Art Centre celebrated or concealed?

* Does the gallery promote community-based art and Aboriginal owned and operated enterprises?

* Does the gallery or dealer acknowledge where and how the artwork was made?

* If a gallery or dealer works directly with artists, what is the quality of that relationship?

* Do they try to prove the provenance and authenticity of artworks by providing photos (or video) showing the artist at work or holding the finished works?

This ‘documentary evidence’ is not legally acceptable and while it may appear convincing, proves nothing.

* Ask for more information about the individual artist and the artists’ community. Ask which Art Centre did the work come through, or which Art Centre does the artist
normally paint with?

Do not believe answers that the Art Centre was ripping off the artist or the artist gets a better deal with the gallery – ask for evidence or details. Artist and artwork
rip-offs happen – without exception – in the unregulated realm of galleries and dealers.

* How are the artists paid? How much does the artist get from a sale? Lack of financial accountability means no certainty about how much artists were paid.

* Can the gallery or dealer provide an artwork certificate or CV for the artist and their work?

* Use your instincts – the onus should be on the gallery to convince you that the artworks they are selling are ethically sourced. If you are unsure or there is evasiveness in the answers, go somewhere else.

* Artist’s name, artist’s Art Centre or community and catalogue number, all written on the back or edges of the painting, or otherwise clearly marked on the artwork.


More Information
For more information about Western Desert Mob, the art centres, endorsed galleries or purchasing authentic Aboriginal art see our website:
www.westerndesertmob.com.au