What "original" means on Art Collective
Every work listed on Art Collective is an original — painted, drawn, printed, photographed, or made by the artist whose name is on it. There are no reproductions on the platform. Where an artist offers a limited print edition, it's clearly marked as Edition 2 of 10 (or similar) on the artwork page, and every piece in the edition is still signed and numbered by the artist.
How we verify artists
Every artist who sells on Art Collective signs up under their own name, connects a bank account through Stripe Connect (which runs its own identity checks), and is reviewed by our team before their listings go live. It isn't a perfect signal on its own — but combined with direct sales, it closes most of the gap that open marketplaces leave open.
Your provenance
When you buy a piece, your provenance is the direct sale itself: you receive a digital receipt with the artist's name, the artwork title, the date, and the price. Physical certificates of authenticity are not issued on Art Collective today — we'd rather keep the trust anchored to the artist and the platform rather than to a piece of card that can be separated from the work.
If you have a concern
If, after receiving a piece, you have any reason to believe the work isn't what it was represented to be — contact support within your 14-day return window. We'll:
- Pause the artist's payout for that order.
- Ask both sides for information — the artist for provenance and process details, you for photos and the order history.
- Review and make a call. If the concern is upheld, the sale is reversed in full and you keep no obligation to return anything until a return label reaches you. If the concern isn't upheld, the payout releases and we'll explain why.
Authenticity concerns are taken seriously but raised rarely — direct-from-artist sales are the simplest provenance on the market. If you're hesitating about a piece, message the artist before you buy; they're on the platform to answer.