Veriso research library
Artwork research library
How to identify an artwork, read its signature and the labels on its back, work out how old it is, and understand what it might be worth. Each guide sets out the evidence that matters, a step-by-step method, real examples and the mistakes to avoid — useful whether or not you ever use Veriso.
Identifying your artwork
Work out what an artwork is — medium, period, school and possible maker — from the object and your photographs.
- Art identification
How to identify a painting
A complete method for working out what a painting is, when it was made and who might have painted it.
- Photo-based identification
Identify artwork from a photo
Which photographs to take, what image search can find, and how to read the evidence in your pictures.
- Older paintings
How to identify an old painting
Use canvas, panel, stretcher, nails and craquelure to confirm a painting's age before researching the artist.
- No signature
How to identify an unsigned painting
How to research a painting with no signature, and how to describe what the evidence supports.
- Dating a painting
How old is my painting?
Date a painting from materials, construction, labels and subject, using clues that set firm limits.
- Artwork identification
How to Identify a Painting From a Photo
A practical process for identifying a painting from photographs using signatures, labels, materials, visual clues, and comparable artworks.
- Antique photograph research
How to Identify and Date an Antique Photograph
A field guide to dating antique photographs using process, format, clothing, studio marks, mounts, inscriptions, and provenance.
- Attribution analysis
Artwork Attribution: A Practical Guide
Understand how artwork attribution works and how specialists combine style, signatures, materials, provenance, museum records, and market evidence.
- Originals and reproductions
How to Tell an Original Painting From a Print
Simple checks to tell an original painting from a print, giclée, or reproduction on canvas: surface texture, dot patterns, edges, paper, and the back of the work.
- Authentication
Common Artwork Authentication Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The most common mistakes collectors make when trying to authenticate artwork — from trusting signatures and certificates to cleaning a work too early — and what to do instead.
Understanding signatures and marks
Read signatures, monograms, inscriptions and the labels and stamps on the back of a work.
- Signature research
Identify an artist signature
Turn a hard-to-read signature into a shortlist of artists, and test which one the artwork supports.
- Signature research
Painting signature identification
Read a painted signature and assess whether it belongs to the painting, in the terms catalogs use.
- Verso evidence
Labels and marks on the back of a painting
Decode supplier stamps, gallery and exhibition labels, auction stencils and handwritten notes on the verso.
- Signature research
How to Identify an Artist Signature
Learn how to read and research signatures, monograms, initials, and inscriptions on paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture.
- Provenance research
Provenance Research Methods for Artwork
How to research an artwork's provenance: reading labels and inscriptions, using auction and exhibition archives, dealer records, catalogues raisonnés, and checking for loss and looting.
Valuation and market
How market estimates are built from attribution and comparable sales, and how and where art is sold.
- Market estimate
How much is my artwork worth?
How a market estimate is built from attribution, comparable sales and condition, and when to get an appraisal.
- Art valuation
How Much Is My Painting Worth?
Understand the evidence used to estimate a painting's market value, from attribution and condition to auction comparables and provenance.
- Art market
What Determines Art Value? An Expert Guide
The factors that determine an artwork's market value — attribution, authenticity, medium, subject, size, condition, provenance, rarity, and demand — and how specialists weigh them.
- Selling art
How to Sell Your Artwork at Auction
A step-by-step guide to selling art at auction: choosing an auction house, estimates and reserves, seller's fees, consignment agreements, and what happens after the sale.
Common artwork scenarios
Practical first steps for inherited paintings, estate-sale purchases and thrift store finds.
- Inheritance
Inherited a painting? What to do first
What to do first with an inherited painting: documentation, family records, research and estate valuation.
- Estate sales
How to evaluate art at an estate sale
Fast, reliable checks for paintings and prints at estate sales, and how to research a find afterwards.
- Thrift finds
Is my thrift store painting worth anything?
How to tell whether a thrift store painting is an original with a market, or a decorative piece.
What is Veriso?
Veriso is an artwork investigation tool that analyzes photographs of an artwork together with evidence such as signatures, verso labels and inscriptions, subject, medium, technique, likely period and school, attribution clues, and market context.
Veriso's findings are research, not a certificate: it does not authenticate artworks or replace a formal appraisal, and its market estimates are indicative ranges based on comparable sales. How Veriso works