Are Museum Quality Oil Painting Reproductions Possible?

written by Shynet Berou on February 1, 2019

When you step into a museum and take a tour of their gallery, you expect to see nothing but top quality artwork. It’s in these galleries that you find paintings that are valued at almost half a billion dollars. So museums are associated with the best of artistic quality. This is also why most artworks you find in museums are usually not for sale.

Learn a bit about how museums choose paintings to display here.

What is a Museum Quality Reproduction?

We’ve looked at what a museum quality artwork represents which then brings us to the question of what a museum quality reproduction is. An art reproduction is simply the replication or copying of an artwork by another artist different from the original artist. When such a copied work is said to be museum quality, it simply means that the replication is so good that it can be displayed in a museum and viewers will be sure they are looking at the original and not a copy.
This ideally is what a professionally reproduced oil painting should be.

Is this Possible?

The answer is a resounding YES! The truth is that museums, galleries and private collectors have been known to get reproductions of some of their high value paintings. The reason for this is to ensure that their highly valuable paintings can be kept with the highest level of safety.

Like we noted above on the issue of museum quality reproductions, museums have been known to put copies on display in place of the original. This could either be for security reasons or to allow the original to receive some care. During this time, visitors will swear to the fact that the painting was on display as usual. It is only the curator and some others in the gallery or museum that will know that what is on display is a reproduction and not the original.

The same applies to private collectors. What they could have on display may well be a reproduction to ensure that the original is always kept as securely as is humanly possible. It is therefore not a question of whether it is possible but how many paintings currently on display in public spaces like museums are the original and not reproductions.

Some years ago, the Dulwich Picture Gallery decided to do a “spot the fake” competition. For the competition, it hung a reproduction of Jean-Honore Fragonard’s “Young Woman” among other original paintings. Visitors were then asked to look through the paintings and determine which one was a reproduction.

Out of about 3000 visitors that looked through the paintings, only about 300 of these guessed right. Note that the article said they guessed. Read about it here: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/28/dulwich-gallery-reveals-fake-painting-among-collection-of-old-masters.

The story above further shows just how well a reproduction can be.

How Can One Find Artists that can Offer this Quality?

Finding an artist or reproduction company that can help you with a painting reproduction requires knowing exactly what to look out for. There are a number of companies that can deliver this quality of service. A good example is the company that was top rated on Trust Pilot for its category – 1st Art Reproductions. To find one of these, you just need to know how to identify them.
Here are a few things to look out for when searching for one such company:

Reputation

In today’s business landscape, a company’s reputation can tell you a lot about them. A number of third party sites now offer you the ability to review a company outside their website. This provides an independent platform where you can go see how well or badly a company is doing.
If most folks who have used a company have nothing good to say about them, it surely will not be wise for you to go with them.

Quality of Artists

The quality of the paint reproduction you will get will be determined by the talent, skill and experience of the artists. Before choosing any company, try to find out the quality of artists they have in their employ.
You may want to look at past jobs done by their artists to determine how well they work.

Class of Clientele

The reason why a company’s list of clientele may be important is that retaining top level clients requires top notch service. One of the main things that was pointed out about 1st Art Reproductions was the fact that the likes of the royal family, celebrities and Hollywood production companies found them to be of top quality.
You cannot have a list of top end clients if you do not provide quality services.

Guaranties

What guaranty does the company offer? One of the first things you will notice about top companies is that they do not require you to make a full down payment before commencing with the job. They know they will do a good job so they get their full payment only after the client has approved the work for shipping.
Some go ahead to give you a warranty for some time after you have taken delivery of the job. These guaranties can tell you a lot about how well a company works. Companies that deliver top quality are not afraid to give guaranties because they proudly stand behind their products.
These few points listed above can help you find the right company to work with for your painting reproduction jobs.