Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board

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The Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, Inc. is a private corporation which certifies the authenticity of works by artist Andy Warhol. The organization was created in association with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The Board, based in New York City, consists of six members who meet three times a year to examine works and authenticate them as genuine Warhols. They do not appraise works' value. This board does not have first hand knowledge of Warhol's working methods and apparently refuse any information supplied by those closest to the artist.

The Board has received criticism for its operating methods, which differ from other authentication boards, and its seeming arbitrariness in judging whether or not a work is an authentic Warhol (though, given Warhol's working methods, what constitutes an actual work by Warhol can be open for debate). The Board does not discuss how they operate, citing privacy concerns.

Recently, the board has re-authenticated 100 Brillo Box sculptures, which they have admitted were made in a local shop in Sweden 3 years after Warhol's death. These boxes were made without any materials supplied by Warhol or his estate. The boxes were made by a powerful dealer and one is owned by a former director of the Warhol Foundation. There is no evidence that Warhol authorized these boxes, which have a current value of $21 million dollars. The board are now accused of authenticating works recently made by the Warhol foundation after the artists death.