Fine Art Forensics
A Fine Art Registry® Website

Art Forensics #4: Forensic Linguistics
In this article the focus will be on authorship determination as found through the process of composing the document by an author rather than the actual structure of letters and words. Document analysis here will focus on vocabulary used, punctuation and grammar identifiers, horizontal and vertical alignment of writing, colloquialisms, verb/noun ordering, sentence complexity, and active versus passive sentence presentation. Commonly referred to as forensic linguistics, it is also known as literary forensics or stylistics. It is both quantitative and qualitative; it uses statistics to analyze data and derives conclusions based on experience and intuition.
Article, August 31, 2009

Art Forensics #3: Handwriting Analysis
As with Forensic Science in general the concept of handwriting analysis moves in many directions and exists on many levels. Graphology or using a person's handwriting to determine or predict personality and behavior is employed extensively as a corporate tool in France, and infrequently in Britain and the United States. Its scientific stature however is not recognized. Forensic Handwriting Analysis is an accepted evidentiary tool in our legal system. As we shall see in this article it is certainly not without its share of problems.
Article, August 24, 2009

Art Forensics #2: Forensic Science and Provenance Research: Questioned Documents
Authenticating works of art is grounded in the process of scientific analysis, provenance research, and connoisseurship. Provenance research focuses on establishing a document trail indicating that a particular work was from the hand of the artist. Document authentication consists of verifying those aspects of the document which corroborate that it was created when it was supposed to be by whoever was supposed to have created it, or part of the trail of the history of the work. A second aspect of document authentication has to do with the signature on the document. Here handwriting analysis comes to bear on establishing authenticity. The focus of this article will be on document analysis rather than handwriting analysis.
Article, July 27, 2009

Art Forensics Introduction: Forensic Science under Attack by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
The Supreme Court in 1993 issued a standard or legal precedent currently referred to as the Daubert standard which lays out the necessary criteria to allow an expert to provided testimony in a federal court. As gatekeepers, trial judges look at various criteria in allowing forensic data to be admitted in the court proceedings. Judges focus on relevancy, empirical testing, peer review, falsifiability, error rate, and consensus of opinion. Thus, an expert stating that he "feels" or intuitively he knows the evidence to be true without other experts confirming such statements would be subject to a rejection.
Article, July 13, 2009

Farid, Fractals and Fingerprinting: New Fine Art Authenticator Technology or Pseudoscience?
After centuries of having fine art authenticated by so called art connoisseurs, there is a movement toward a combination or interdisciplinary approach to authenticating fine art. Case law, IRS regulations, insurance processes and newly emerging industry standards make it clear that a consensual and scholarly approach of science, provenance and connoisseurship must be used to authentic a work of fine art.
Article, February 12, 2009

New York Post:
YOU DON'T KNOW JACK!
CSI VET FINGERS POLLOCK PRO AS FRAUD
Media, April 18, 2008

Press Release: Fingerprint Forgery and Fabrication Expert Finds Fingerprints on Alleged Jackson Pollock Painting were Forged.
Commissioned by Global Fine Art Registry, LLC., world renowned fingerprint forgery and fabrication detection specialist, Pat Wertheim, examined fingerprints.
Press, April 5, 2008

Alleged Pollock Fingerprints: An Independent Expert's Review

Peter Paul Biro fingerprint evidence in Jackson Pollock painting "Authentication" found to be invalid by veteran fingerprint examiner, Tom Hanley, commissioned by Global Fine Art Registry, LLC.

What Price Forensics? Another Possible Jackson Pollock Surfaces
Another tale involving Paul Biro "authenticating" a possible Jackson Pollock (a different one), the same fingerprint, the same Tod Volpe in the background with schemes to separate the unwary.
Article, July 24, 2007

Jackson Pollock and Teri Horton: Investigative Report
FAR Case Study on the true identity of Teri Horton's artwork, is it an original Jackson Pollock, or is she being mislead by supposed experts. Fine Art Registry news, articles and research into Teri Horton's claims
Case Study, November 15, 2006