Detecting art forgeries using LA-ICP-MS incorporating the in situ application of laser-based collection technology.

The nature of art lends itself to forgery as a skilled and determined forger can mimic the techniques and styles of an artist to a level where even an expert can be duped. The authentication of paintings is a subjective process, but modern techniques may provide the means to provenance artist pigments based on elemental composition. This study applies laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to the analysis of artist paints from different manufacturers to identify variation between the elemental association patterns of these materials.