IFAR Journal
Volume 8, No. 2
2005/06
A Digital Technique for Authentication in the Visual Arts
— Daniel Rockmore, Siwei Lyu and Hany Farid
Dartmouth College researchers present a mathematical measure of an artist’s style that may yield a new quantitative tool for those involved in art authentication. Article focuses on a Perugino altarpiece and Breughel drawings
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Moulin-Rouge: La Goulue—Lithograph or Reproduction?
— Charles B. Goldstein
The text raises evaluative and provocative questions about art vocabulary and whether or not Toulouse-Lautrec’s iconic first poster is indeed a lithograph.
Hurricane Katrina and the Visual Arts
— The Editor
The following four articles are edited versions of talks given at an IFAR Evening, December 5, 2005, discussing the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the art community, art objects, and historic buildings of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Katrina: The Damage to Historic Structures on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
— David Preziosi
Preziosi identifies the historic landmarks and structures on the Mississippi Coast affected by Hurricane Katrina and explains what The Mississippi Heritage Trust is doing to help repair the damage.
Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans Architecture as Art: A Post-Katrina Report
— Patricia H. Gay
Gay speaks about the historic architecture of New Orleans and surveys the losses and rebuilding of the structures and the art community.
Hurricane Katrina: Insurance Issues and Lessons Learned
— Christiane Fischer
Speaking as the CEO of AXA Art Insurance Corporation, Fischer discusses AXA’s role after Katrina hit, the lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita, and what insurance carriers and art collectors need to do in the future.
Hurricane Katrina: Emergency Art Recovery and Conservation
— Heather Becker
Becker describes the role The Chicago Conservation Center played in the national recovery effort on the Gulf Coast and the conservation work on specific objects.
News and Updates: Happy Ending for Cellini’s Saltcellar
— Sharon Flescher
The most famous salt and pepper holder in the world has been recovered, and is essentially unharmed. Describes circumstances of the theft at the Kunsthistorische Museum, lax security, and details of the recovery of the gold and enamel saliera.
News and Updates: Munch Scream Trial Ends
— Sharon Flescher
Trial against six men charged in the theft of Munch’s The Scream and Madonna in Oslo ended in March.
News and Updates: Foreign Ownership Claims Embroil U.S. Museums
— Sharon Flescher
Discusses Peru against Yale; Italy against the Getty, Metropolitan, MFA Boston, Princeton, and others; Greece against the Getty Museum.
News and Updates: Say it Isn’t True—Avoidable Accidents Befall Museums
— Sharon Flescher
Man Trips and Breaks Antique Vase in Fitzwilliam Museum; Twelve-year-old Boy Sticks Chewing Gum on Painting in Detroit Museum; Milwaukee Museum Martinifest Ends with Broken Objects.
News and Updates: Egypt and St. Louis Museum Battle Over Mask
— Jack A. Josephson
Details of an ownership claim by Egypt for ancient Mummy Mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer, acquired by the St. Louis Art Museum.
News and Updates: New AAMD Guidelines on Antiquities Loan Raise Questions of What to Do with Unprovenanced Objects
— Sharon Flescher
The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) published a new set of guidelines in February 2006 to deal with antiquities on loan to museums, with an emphasis on transparency and due diligence in the borrowing of ancient objects.
News and Updates: Austria Rules in Favor of Altmann
— Sharon Flescher
Discusses an Austrian arbitration ruling on the claim of Maria Altmann to recover Klimt paintings owned before WWII by her family.
News and Updates: U.S. Imposes Import Restrictions on Objects from Colombia; Italy Extended
— Sharon Flescher
Under the CPIA, the U.S. placed import restrictions on certain types of pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts from Colombia, as well as ethnological and ecclesiastic materials from the Spanish colonial period. Italy’s restrictions extended for five years. No decision on request from China.
Stolen Art Alert
Thefts include: Springs Winter (a purported Jackson Pollock, stolen while on loan to the Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA); Andy Warhol, La Grand Passion; Salvador Dali, The Two Balconies; Henry Matisse, The Luxembourg Gardens; Pablo Picasso, The Dance; Claude Monet, Marine; Henry Moore, Reclining Figure
Recoveries
Benvenuto Cellini, Saltcellar (Saliera) (stolen on May 11, 2003 from the Kunsthistorisches Museum); Paul Cézanne, The Winding Road; Paul Gauguin, The Cry (The Call); Pierre August Renoir, Head of Young Girl; Chaim Soutine, Portrait d’un Jeune Homme and Fillette en Robe Rouge ; Maurice Utrillo, Maison Rouge; Maurice de Vlaminck, Fleurs; Jean Jansem, Seated Woman; Jean Jansem, Boy.
