What Can Science Tell Us About Art?
“Science helps art tell its own story. Science can reveal the structure of the work, its composition and its condition.” -Jamie Martin
Paintings are usually described in terms of beauty, style, historical importance and value, but sometimes the characteristics that are the most important — their elemental and molecular compositions — are overlooked. Even the most seasoned collector can be seduced into acquiring a work that seems to have everything they are looking for — a recognizable style that is the signature of a great master, say, or a composition from the most desirable period — only to discover that they have purchased a fake. Consider the sensational case of 40 forged “masterpieces” by Modern artists such as Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock sold to unsuspecting collectors for some $60 million by Knoedler; the 165-year-old New York gallery collapsed in 2011 in the wake of the ensuing scandal after the truth about those paintings was revealed.
Knoedler trafficked in these forgeries for 15 years, but it only took only a few days for James Martin, the founder of Orion Analytical, to determine that one of the Pollocks that passed through the gallery was not authentic. Analyzing microscopic samples of paint, he determined that the pigments used by the actual artist (a forger working in a Queens garage) weren’t invented until decades after Pollock died. This was just one example of hundreds of forgeries that Martin has discovered using state-of-the-art techniques like Raman spectroscopy and a storehouse of knowledge built over three decades teaching at The Getty Conservation Institute, the FBI’s Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit, and other institutions. Martin has undertaken more than 1800 scientific investigations for museums, galleries, insurance companies and private collectors in five continents, earning him a reputation as one of the art world’s top scientists, conservators and educators; the fact that he is a talented artist in his own right also helps Martin detect cues that something isn’t quite right.
In 2016 Sotheby’s acquired Orion Analytical, and since arriving last December, Martin has set up a state-of-the-art laboratory at Sotheby’s corporate headquarters in New York, and a facility in London to serve the UK and Continental Europe. In 2017, his team examined more than $100,000,000 of art. Their findings have proven pivotal in understanding the construction, composition, and condition of a range of items, from paintings and works on paper to furniture and sculpture — and even rare bottles of wine.
Jamie recently sat down with The Art Law Podcast to discuss his work, the art world and how the two magnificently collide. Specifically, what can science tell us about a work of art’s origin and authenticity? Can science help us discover fakes and forgeries undetected by traditional connoisseur style observation? Listen below as Jamie discusses these issues, recounts famous forgery scandals and delves into his techniques and practices. Check it out:
