The certificate arrives with the painting, usually in an envelope tucked behind the canvas. It carries the artist's signature, the title, the dimensions, the medium and the year. Sometimes it also has a photograph of the work, a gallery stamp, or a second signature from a curator. Most people file it with the receipt and forget it, until the day they need it, which is never a good day to be searching through drawers.
What a Certificate Is
A certificate of authenticity is a signed statement, from the artist or someone authorised to speak for them, that a particular work was made by a particular person. In short, it says the painting is what it claims to be. With contemporary art, outright forgery is less of a risk than with old masters, but works can still be misattributed or misdescribed, and the certificate is the formal record of where the work came from.
A certificate does not set a painting's value, and a skilled forger can fake a certificate as easily as a painting. What it gives you is the start of the work's provenance: the documented chain of owners that future buyers, valuers and museums will want to see.
When It Actually Matters
A certificate matters most when you sell. Whether you sell at auction, through a dealer or privately, the buyer will ask for documentation. A certificate from the original sale, especially one issued by a reputable gallery, makes the sale simpler and can affect what a buyer is willing to pay.
Insurers ask for it too. Before covering a work, a fine art insurer will usually want proof of what it is and where it came from. The certificate, with the purchase receipt and any exhibition records, is the minimum most of them need.
It matters again when a painting is passed on. When a collection goes to the next generation or is sold at auction, clear records of each work, what it is, where it came from and what was paid, make the process much simpler and head off disputes that can otherwise make an inheritance costly.
Not All Certificates Are Equal
A certificate signed only by an unknown third party, without the artist's signature or a gallery behind it, counts for much less than one signed by the artist. The best carries the artist's signature and a photograph of the work, and can be checked against the gallery's own records.
Store certificates securely, ideally in archival sleeves in a fireproof location, separate from the work itself. Photograph both sides and keep a digital copy. And when the work travels, for loan, for sale, for conservation, ensure the documentation travels with it. The painting may outlast everyone currently alive. Its paperwork should be prepared to do the same.