IFAR Journal
Volume 4, No. 3
2001
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
— James A.R. Nafziger
This article discusses the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage of November, 2001, which attempts to resolve the difference in maritime law and international cultural property law involving underwater treasures
Lost, Stolen and Destroyed Pictures by Sir Joshua Reynolds
— David Mannings
The author of Joshua Reynolds’ catalogue raisonné discusses several missing Reynolds’ works. Some were destroyed by jealous husbands, others lost in fires and various disasters. Still others have been stolen or destroyed and/or lost during World War II.
Early Netherlandish Paintings or 20th-Century Fakes?- An IFAR Evening
— Maryan W. Ainsworth
Summary of an IFAR Evening talk by Ainsworth on the Palmer Triptych, originally attributed to Hans Memling. The painting, given to the Palmer Art Museum, has now been proven to be a fake. Other early Netherlandish fakes are also discussed.
Updates & Newsbriefs: Verdict in New York Antiquities Trial
— Sharon Flescher
Guilty verdict in lower court trial of Frederick Schultz, New York antiquities dealer.
Updates & Newsbriefs: September 11th and the Art World
— Sharon Flescher
Provides an abbreviated list of art works lost and damaged on September 11th; lists a few of the many arts-related 9/11 responses.
Updates & Newsbriefs: Swiss Considering New Cultural Property Law
— Sharon Flescher
A bill recommending implementation of the UNESCO Convention was sent to Parliament. The Swiss Federal Act on the International Transfer of Cultural Goods contains provisions governing the import, export and trade of cultural goods.
Updates & Newsbriefs: Stolen Chagall Makes Odyssey
— Sharon Flescher
Chagall painting (Study for ‘Over Vitebsk’, 1914) stolen while on loan to the Jewish Museum in New York is found in Topeka, Kansas post office after Minnesota journey.
Updates & Newsbriefs: Two Museum Insiders Give in to Temptation
— Sharon Flescher
Russell Pritchard Jr., Director of Philadelphia’s Civil War Library and Museum, pleaded guilty in scam involving the sale of two valuable Civil War uniforms. David Wooley, Curator of Anthropology at the Wisconsin Historical Society, was convicted of stealing Native American ethnographic materials.
Updates & Newsbriefs: Mobster Pleads Guilty in Fake Art Scam
— Sharon Flescher
Three associates of the Gambino crime family were caught trying to sell four fakes and one stolen painting to a government informant.
Authenticity and the Statute of Limitations in Art Sales: A Suggestion
— Franklin Feldman
The Uniform Commercial Code states that a claim arising out of a sale of goods (including art) must be brought within 4 years of the sale. Feldman suggests that to avoid future problems a potential buyer could agree to lease or rent a painting for a designated period of time in order to evaluate the work’s authenticity.
Book Review: A New Tool for Provenance Research
— Evie T. Joselow
A review of The AAM Guide to Provenance Research by Nancy H. Yeide, Konstantin Akinsha, and Amy L. Walsh—a resource for identifying documentary materials to assist research on art looted by the Nazis.
Stolen Art Alert
Thefts include: Egon Schiele, Wise, Kirche, and Hauser, 1912 (stolen from a museum in the Czech Republic, 2001); Henry Moore, 3 Piece Reclining Figure: Maquette No. 4, 1975 (stolen from a New York gallery, 2001); Pablo Picasso, Spanish Woman (drawing), 1917 (stolen in transit between New York and Michigan, 2001); Recoveries include: Follower of Jan Van Eyck, Head of Christ (stolen in 1989); Roman Head of a Janiform Herm (stolen in 1983).
