Expert: Ben Mahmoud - 5/8/2008

Question
Hi, I recently picked up a poster of Joan Miro's "Equinoxe" at an antique shop in Florida.  I have googled several websites to view pictures of the original aquatint and I found that mine is different.  All the components in mine are the same as the aquatints for sale, however, there are subtle differences in their location.  For example, the dot in the upper right hand corner that appears in the web version bleeds into the blue horizontal line.  My poster does not bleed into the line, but is standing alone without touching anything.  There are other differences, perhaps the most compelling is the fact that Miro's signature is actually part of the poster and is not inscribed in pencil below.  I brought it to Sothebys and after 10 minutes, they dismissed it as a poster.  Fine.  My question is, if someone were making a poster or forgery, why wouldn't it be identical to the original version so openly displayed on every gallery's website?  Is it possible that before Miro decided to make the aquatint version, it was made as a poster or perhaps it was made as a poster and then it was decided to be made as an aquatint?  Why so blatent a forgery with a signature that is different than the original and yet done so well it looks like it could be an original?  I have removed it from it's frame.  It measures 20" x 26" and it is on some kind of textured paper pasted in the back to cardboard.  My plans are to also bring it to Skinners for another opinion.  I leave you with this, Florida is a state where many people go to retire.  Is it possible that someone involved in the original production of the aquatint managed to get an original poster that was later sold off when they died, as a mere copy in their estate sale?  Or, do I have an overly active imagination and should turn to writing novels.  Regards, Ross  

Answer
Interesting issue.  I cannot answer the questions you have raised.  But I can tell you this:  whoever owned it had no regard for the piece.  To glue paper to cardboard is to doom the paper.  Cardboard is highly acid, and in a rather short time, it destroys the paper.

On the other hand, I can recall that as an art student at a school associated with a museum.  The museum owned a Picasso drawing, and the director was sure there was something on the reverse side of the paper.  However, the drawing was glued to an acid-free board.  He wanted it off.  I was enlisted to help the curator remove the drawing from the board.  Nerve wracking, and there was not a mark on the reverse side.

I will take a stab at the issue.  In making an aquatint, there are many steps.  Sometimes, the artist asks for a proof (called Artist Proof). It could be that the poster was made from one of the Artist's Proofs.  Another thought:  Miro may have made a drawing or small painting of the piece before it was printed so that the printers would have a certain knowledge of the colors he wanted.  Maybe this could be the source of the poster.  Or maybe Miro made an aquatint from an existing work.

These are all possibilities.  Do get your second opinion, but I would guess that Sothebys never miss a beat.  If there were any chance of it being something of value, they would have wanted to sell it for you.

I know I have not been of much help in this matter, and I hope you can resolve your issues with the poster.

Regards, Ben Mahmoud