Just received the August issue of Maine Antiques Digest. I found S. Clayton Pennington's editorial in section A on page 3 to be very interesting. It is about a 1970's California state law which legislates that a dealer or auctioneer must provide a Certificate of Authenticity if requested by the purchaser on any print sold for $100.00 or more. Of course the operative words are "if requested by the purchaser".
The editorial states a collector in California has recently filed a class action lawsuit against the Museum of Contemporary Art for not providing a COA.
Click here to read the editorial.
Although not many people appear to be aware of the law, and it seems to have been ignored by most, all it takes is one person on a mission and print sales in CA could soon become much more complicated.
I know no dealer or auction house which wants to deal with this sort of ordinance, but as an appraiser, well, there could be potential business opportunities to those with expertise in prints. This one is a real double edged sword.
It will be an interesting case to watch.
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