[MSN] International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

To the MSN list-serve:
From: Sharon Flescher,Executive Director
International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the publication of "Catalogues Raisonnés and the Authentication Process: Where the Ivory Tower Meets the Marketplace," the proceedings of a conference organized by the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR). 

The two-day conference, with 24 speakers, tackled the subject of catalogues raisonnés from the following vantage points: Procedures & Process; Who Judges the Experts?; Getting Published -- At What Cost?; Legal Liability for Giving Opinions; Ethics & Potential Conflicts of Interest; and Post-Research: Dealing with the Field. The introductory talk, "Right or Wrong; Real or Fake:Who Cares," was given by Samuel Sachs II.  Other speakers included art historians (catalogue raisonné authors), art attorneys; publishers; a conservator; museum professionals; and a dealer and auction house representative. The full list of participants is on our Website. The Journal also has an article summarizing the results of IFAR's survey of catalogue raisonné authors, based on responses to a 7-page questionnaire sent to 240 authors. Although limited, it is to our knowledge the only quantitative information extant about preparing a catalogue raisonne (time-frame, cost, procedures, etc).  

The Proceedings were published as a special double-issue of the IFAR Journal. It is 132 pages with many color illustrations. The Journal,  published quarterly, is available by subscription and is not sold on newsstands. But individual copies (of this issue or others) can be ordered by downloading the form on IFAR's Website --  http://www.ifar.org ( then go to "IFAR Journal") -- and mailing or faxing it with payment to IFAR.  Those of you who do not wish to purchase a copy, will be able to consult it in many libraries.