Information on Fine Line Art Corp.

Recently, Bill Z. of Wind Lake, Wisconsin wrote to FAR® with a question regarding a Picasso print he purchased in 2001. Bill asks:
“I’m sure this is coming out of left field, but your web site is the closest thing I’ve found to possibly getting an answer to my question. I have a Picasso lithograph with a certificate of authenticity from Fine Line Art Corp. Have you ever heard of them? I can’t find any information…. [The] corporate seal reads 2001, New York, 212-353-0088.”

Not out of left field at all, Bill. This is type of question is asked over and over and over again about fly-by-night operation after fly-by-night operation. These types of companies proliferate. They open shop one day and shut down the next. They are a scourge. Never before in history have there been more fakes and forgeries on the market than since the advent of the World Wide Web.

Not surprisingly, our research turned up very little. We learned that unless the name or corporate entity was changed, Fine Line Art Corp. was not or is no longer a viable entity. We checked with New York State Division of Corporations which references records on business and not for profit corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, as well as other miscellaneous businesses. We discovered that no active or even inactive corporations by this name exist or existed in New York’s corporate division records. We tried the name Fine Line Art and found an active record for: Fine Art Line Artwork, Ltd., incorporated in 1978. Not close enough to be the Fine Line Art Corp. referenced on your Certificate of Authenticity. No other records were found. A cardinal rule in the book of due diligence when buying art: Always verify the viability of the individuals and/or entities who claims to be “authenticating” or selling any piece of art work.

It is an absolute must these days for anyone considering the purchase of prints or any art work, especially when claimed to be produced by a famous or well-known artist, to first perform due diligence and check out the sources who are providing the key information. Do your research. Educate yourself. If it looks and sounds too good to be true, it usually and probably is. Red flags should fly when you are presented with an offer to purchase prints purported to be signed by the hand of a famous artist like Picasso, Dali, Matisse, Chagall, and others. Chances are 10 times out of 10, they are all fakes—every single last one of them. Resist the urge. After all, there is enough original art work out there, produced by honest, living artists that is much more worthy of the investment of your hard-earned money, than a Picasso print just scanned in and printed off an ink-jet printer with a nice, pretty, fake certificate attached.

Always suspect a Certificate of Authenticity that is offered by anyone other than the artist who created or originated the work. Documentation that often accompanies a Certificate of Authenticity is also faked and forged, too, so beware. You simply cannot rely on a Certificate of Authenticity or other documentation as credible evidence that the work or the signature on the work are authentic.

The bottom line is that there is tremendous abuse with prints on the art market these days. Faked and forged Certificates of Authenticity are legion and continue to proliferate simply because of a lack of awareness and standards in the industry. Fine Art Registry™ is working hard to change the abuses that plague the art market today. We want to help educate collectors about these types of abuses and fraudulent activity. Collectors can help to protect themselves from this type of abuse by insisting that all art work considered for purchase be first permanently registered with Fine Art Registry prior to purchasing it.

As far as the value of your artwork goes, Bill? It’s hard to say. Without removing the piece from the frame to examine it and with no information included on the Certificate of Authenticity of any value whatsoever, and no way to verify anything at all with the gallery you purchased it from, it’s just a nice, decorative print—nothing more, nothing less. I think you were right on the money in your valuation: the framing job is certainly worth something. One however cannot put a price on enjoyment of the work itself.

Thanks for sharing your question with us, Bill. If you purchased this print from a gallery that is different from that which is on the certificate itself, let us know and we will attempt to research it, We hope we have helped you and others who might have prints with certificates issued by the same company. If we discover any further information about this company, we will post it here. We also hope that others reading this blog might comment with additional information about Fine Line Art Corp.