COULD YOUR ARTWORK BE BY NORMAN LEWIS?

Previously unknown works by important artists continue to emerge from private collections, estates, inheritances, and long-held family possessions. While authentic works by Norman Lewis may be rare, every work deserves to be evaluated on its own merits rather than dismissed simply because it is unfamiliar or undocumented.

If you believe your painting, drawing, watercolor, gouache, print, abstraction, figurative work, or other work on paper may be by Norman Lewis, obtaining an independent professional opinion is the appropriate first step. Lewis was one of the most important American abstract painters of the twentieth century and a significant figure in Abstract Expressionism. His career developed from socially engaged figurative work in the 1930s and early 1940s toward a highly personal form of abstraction characterized by calligraphic marks, luminous color fields, clustered forms, and compositions that can suggest crowds, processions, music, nature, and movement.

We have specialized in the authentication of works attributed to Norman Lewis since 2002. We issue Certificates of Authenticity (COAs), Authentication Reports, appraisals, valuations, provenance reports, and provide buying, selling, brokerage, and investment advisory services for collectors, attorneys, insurers, financial institutions, estates, museums, and private clients worldwide.

Getting started is straightforward. Simply send us photographs of the work together with its dimensions and any information you have regarding its history or ownership. After reviewing the material, we will recommend the most appropriate course of action.

AUTHENTICATION

Is this a Norman Lewis?

From a single photograph of ordinary quality, we can often determine whether a work appears consistent with Lewis’s work or whether it clearly does not. His production includes oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, lithographs, etchings, and other works on paper, and his style changed significantly over the course of his career, so the proposed date, subject, medium, support, palette, composition, mark-making, signature, inscriptions, and provenance must all be considered.

What services do you provide?

We provide authentication, certification, Certificates of Authenticity (COAs), Authentication Reports, appraisals and valuations, provenance research, private sales and brokerage, investment advice, and analytical art market research.

Is it possible to discover a previously unknown Norman Lewis today?

Yes. Lewis maintained a productive career from the 1930s through the late 1970s and created paintings, drawings, prints, studies, and other works over several decades. Previously undocumented examples can remain in private collections, estates, family holdings, and collections that have not been publicly exhibited or thoroughly researched.

Do I need to get my Norman Lewis authenticated?

Yes. Authentication is essential if you wish to sell your work for its full market value. It is also important for insurance, estate planning, charitable donations, financing, and many legal purposes.

Is it complicated to get a Norman Lewis authenticated?

Not for you. Simply send us photographs of the entire front and reverse, close-up photographs of the painted, drawn, or printed surface, signature, date, inscriptions, labels, stamps, canvas, board, paper, stretcher, frame, and other important details, together with the dimensions and anything you know about the work’s history. The investigation itself is our responsibility.

How long does it take to authenticate a Norman Lewis?

It depends on how much is already known about the work when we begin the investigation. In the simplest cases, authenticity can be confirmed within a couple of weeks. More complex cases may require several months.

How much does it cost to authenticate a Norman Lewis?

From the low hundreds to the high thousands. It depends on how much is already known and documented, where relevant archives and comparative works are located, and whether travel or scientific testing is required.

Can a signature alone prove that a Norman Lewis work is authentic?

No. A signature or inscription is only one element of evidence and cannot establish authenticity by itself. It must be evaluated together with the work’s materials, technique, support, date, provenance, and other physical and documentary characteristics.

Can an unsigned Norman Lewis work still be authentic?

Yes. The absence of a visible signature does not by itself establish that a painting, drawing, or print is inauthentic. Attribution should be based on the complete body of evidence, including materials, technique, support, date, provenance, and comparison with securely documented works.

What documents help authenticate a Norman Lewis?

Any document that mentions, describes, illustrates, or refers to the work may assist the authentication. Historic photographs, invoices, correspondence, exhibition catalogues, gallery and dealer records, collection catalogues, conservation reports, insurance documents, auction records, collection inventories, studio records, and previous ownership records can all contribute valuable evidence.

Can a Norman Lewis work be authenticated from photographs?

Yes. High-quality photography is an extremely useful authentication tool and allows us to study composition, brushwork, calligraphic marks, paint layering, surface, paper, canvas, signatures, inscriptions, labels, and other important characteristics remotely. When additional evidence is required, we may recommend an in-person examination. We examine works worldwide.

Is it always necessary to perform scientific analyses of a Norman Lewis?

No. Many works can be authenticated through research, provenance investigation, comparative analysis, and technical examination. Scientific testing is generally reserved for more difficult cases when questions remain concerning pigments, binders, canvas, board, paper, grounds, varnishes, printing inks, or the age and composition of other materials.

Are Lewis’s early figurative works important for authentication?

Yes. Before concentrating increasingly on abstraction, Lewis produced socially engaged figurative works depicting urban life and the experiences of African Americans. Works from the 1930s and early 1940s may therefore look very different from the abstract paintings for which he later became best known. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, identifies The Soup Kitchen of about 1937 as part of this earlier Social Realist phase.

Are Lewis’s different periods important for authentication?

Yes. Correctly identifying the proposed period is essential. His early figurative and socially engaged work differs substantially from his mature abstract paintings of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. A work should therefore be compared with securely documented examples from the appropriate phase of his career.

Are calligraphic marks important in Norman Lewis authentication?

Yes. Lewis frequently used delicate, calligraphic, glyph-like, or figure-like marks within larger fields of color. These elements can appear to gather into groups, swarms, marches, or processions. Their scale, rhythm, density, spacing, edge quality, and relationship to the surrounding field can provide useful comparative evidence.

Are crowd and procession imagery important when authenticating Lewis?

Yes. Although many mature works are abstract, Lewis often arranged small marks in ways that can evoke groups of people, marches, dances, or processions. Such associations became especially significant in relation to the Civil Rights era. Composition, movement, grouping, and the balance between abstraction and implied figuration can therefore assist authentication.

Are music and jazz important in Norman Lewis authentication?

Yes. Music, including jazz and classical music, was an important source of inspiration for Lewis. Rhythm, repetition, improvisatory mark-making, and the spatial interaction of forms can therefore be relevant when comparing a work with documented examples. The National Gallery of Art identifies music as one of the recurring sources informing his practice.

Are nature and atmospheric effects important in Lewis authentication?

Yes. Nature, seasonal changes, plant forms, the sea, darkness, light, mist, and atmospheric space influenced Lewis’s abstraction. Some paintings use broad fields of color within which fine marks appear to emerge, dissolve, or float. Palette, layering, spatial depth, and the relationship between marks and ground can therefore provide useful evidence.

Are works on paper important in Norman Lewis authentication?

Yes. Lewis worked in watercolor, ink, graphite, crayon, and other media on paper in addition to painting. Paper type, dimensions, line quality, layering, inscriptions, mounting, and relationship to documented works can therefore provide important evidence. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, holds a circa 1960 work combining watercolor, ink, crayon, and graphite on paper.

Are prints important when authenticating Norman Lewis?

Yes. Lewis produced lithographs, etchings, and other graphic works. Edition size, printer, publisher, paper, state, dimensions, signature, numbering, and impression quality should all be checked carefully against documented examples.

Are color fields important in Norman Lewis authentication?

Yes. In many mature paintings, Lewis placed small gestural or calligraphic forms against broad fields of black, white, blue, red, or other colors. The exact handling of the field, layering, transparency, mark density, and spatial interaction between figure-like forms and background can be especially important. A 1978 painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for example, combines a blue field with clustered, glyph-like strokes.

What if my Norman Lewis has no provenance?

Incomplete provenance is common. When provenance is incomplete, authentication relies more heavily on research, technical examination, photography, analysis of materials and inscriptions, comparison with documented works, and, where appropriate, scientific testing.

Do you issue Certificates of Authenticity for Norman Lewis works?

Yes. Upon completion of the authentication, we issue a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) together with a detailed and fully referenced Authentication Report.

APPRAISALS & VALUATIONS

How much is my Norman Lewis worth?

We will appraise your work and determine its value. Date, period, subject, medium, dimensions, condition, provenance, rarity, quality, exhibition history, publication history, and current market demand can all materially affect value. Major Abstract Expressionist paintings, important civil-rights-related compositions, early figurative works, works on paper, and prints may occupy very different areas of Lewis’s market.

SELLING

Can you sell my Norman Lewis for me?

Yes. We specialize in private sales but use every appropriate selling method to obtain the highest possible net price. We manage the process professionally, confidentially, and on your behalf.

Do I need an appraisal before selling my Norman Lewis?

Yes. Your work should be priced correctly for the country, market, and method of sale. An independent appraisal helps prevent both underpricing and overpricing.

Do I need authentication before selling my Norman Lewis?

Yes. Without authentication, your work may sell for only a fraction of its potential market value.

Can you help me maximize the selling price of my Norman Lewis?

Yes. Authentication, provenance, valuation, timing, presentation, exhibition history, publication history, and the chosen sales method can all influence the final result. We also provide collection management advice designed to maximize value.

Should I restore my Norman Lewis before selling it?

Usually not. Original paint surfaces, canvas, paper, labels, inscriptions, stretcher construction, and frames can provide important evidence during authentication and may materially affect value. Lewis’s delicate surfaces, thin washes, layered fields, and fine calligraphic marks can be particularly vulnerable to inappropriate cleaning or retouching. We generally recommend having the work evaluated before undertaking restoration.

How long does it take to sell a Norman Lewis?

Higher-value works generally require more time to sell because there are fewer qualified buyers. Correct pricing, strong documentation, and the appropriate sales method all contribute to a successful sale.

BUYING & ADVISORY

Should I buy a Norman Lewis?

If you enjoy Lewis’s work, certainly. If your primary objective is investment, we can evaluate the proposed acquisition and alternative opportunities.

Can you review a Norman Lewis before I buy it?

Yes. We provide independent pre-purchase research and analysis for collectors and investors. We also prepare predictive art market forecasts and Buy-Hold-Sell recommendations.

What should I check before buying a Norman Lewis?

Three fundamental questions should always be answered: Is it authentic? What is its condition? Is the price reasonable? For Lewis, the proposed date, period, medium, dimensions, support, palette, composition, calligraphic mark-making, paint handling, signature, inscriptions, provenance, exhibition history, publication history, and relationship to documented works from the same period can all be particularly important.

How can I avoid buying a fake Norman Lewis?

Call us before you buy. An independent review before completing the purchase is one of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of acquiring a forged, incorrectly dated, incorrectly described, reproduced, or misattributed work.

Can you advise me on building a collection?

Yes. We advise collectors on the financial aspects of acquisition, ownership, collection management, and eventual sale.

REQUEST A NORMAN LEWIS AUTHENTICATION OR APPRAISAL

Whether you require authentication, a Certificate of Authenticity, an appraisal, valuation, provenance research, buying advice, selling assistance, brokerage, or investment guidance regarding a work attributed to Norman Lewis, our specialists are available to assist.

Complete the contact form below or call us at +1 (212) 658-0466 to discuss your work with one of our experts.