International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR)

12/23/2024

Following two sold-out sessions earlier this year, IFAR is pleased to offer "Introduction to Provenance Research" in 2025. This online course comprises seven classes running Tues. & Thurs. 3:00-5:00 PM (EST) between Jan. 14 - Feb. 4. Reserve your spot today!
https://shorturl.at/E9PKY

07/24/2024

On November 23,1988, minutes before closing, a young man held up the Rodin Museum in Philidelphia fired a shot into the museum wall, handcuffed three guards, and took off with the 10-inch bronze, Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose.

The purloined bust was Auguste Rodin’s (1840-1917) head study of a local laborer named Bibi. Despite his broken nose and rough-hewn features, Rodin said of Bibi, “In his own way, he was beautiful… that man taught me many things.” And of this early work, he proudly declared, “I have never made anything better.”

The bust had been part of the Rodin Museum’s collection for almost 60 years when it was stolen. It was later recovered in an FBI raid of the home of the thief’s mother, wrapped in newspaper in the basement.

Hear FBI Art Crime detective Robert Wittman, who was part of the team that tracked down Rodin’s stolen bronze, discuss this case and many others in IFAR’s new Art Crime online course.

Reserve your spot today: https://tinyurl.com/artcrimeifar


Image courtesy of : The Philadelphia Museum of Art

07/10/2024

IFAR is excited to announce a partnership with renowned art detective Robert Wittman for a five-session online lecture series on art crime. Wittman, a former FBI special agent and founder of the FBI’s National Art Crime Team, will share insights from his career, including recovering over $300 million in stolen art and cultural property.

Register through the QR code below via the link: https://tinyurl.com/artcrimeifar

We look forward to hosting you!

12/15/2023

IFAR is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lindsey Schneider as executive director. She succeeds Dr. Sharon Flescher, who has served as IFAR's executive director since 1998 and is retiring after an illustrious tenure at the end of this year. Schneider, who has a Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts and an MBA from Columbia University, brings over two decades of experience in development and management at renowned arts institutions.

Schneider said, "IFAR's contributions to the art world over more than 50 years -- from scholarship and advocacy on issues of provenance and repatriation, to the conscientious undertaking of attribution and authentication -- are invaluable... I look forward to helping shape its legacy and to sharing its critical work with an even broader audience."

"Dr. Flescher leaves behind her an outstanding record of leadership and her breadth and depth of knowledge are incomparable," said Jennifer Schipf, IFAR's Chair.... "We are immensely grateful for her many years of exemplary service."

10/25/2023

An IFAR Evening on New York's Antiquities Trafficking Unit

Featuring: Col. Matthew Bogdanos, USMC (Ret.), Chief, Antiquities Trafficking Unit, Manhattan District Attorney's Office

Bogdanos will discuss how the Antiquities Trafficking Unit operates; its relationship to other government agencies; how the Unit grew from 2 to 18 people, and more.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 6-8 PM
The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen
20 West 44th Street, New York

This event is In-Person Only. Register at https://www.ifar.org/upcoming_event.php?docid=1697741861

08/02/2023

The latest issue of IFAR Journal (v. 21 nos. 3/4) is now out! Articles discuss the state of restitution of Colonial loot from European & US museums; Russian avant-garde fakes; and the fate of Courbet's paintings in Germany in WWII. Plus news stories from the world of art and the Stolen Art Alert. To purchase, see the link
https://www.ifar.org/publication_detail.php?docid=1689694757

07/19/2023

Ten years ago in July 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy, raising the alarming prospect that the collection of the city-owned Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) would be liquidated to pay the city's debts. In October, IFAR hosted a sold out IFAR Evening featuring the DIA's then-Director, 2 former museum directors, and a legal advisor to the DIA to discuss the potential consequences of such a sell-off. [Fortunately, over $800 million eventually was raised to pay public pensions, thus saving the museum. Ownership of the DIA was transferred to an independent charitable trust].

Click the link below to watch the video from this fascinating and impassioned discussion.
https://www.ifar.org/past_event.php?docid=1380915865

These talks later appeared in Vol. 14, 2014 of the IFAR Journal which is available for purchase on IFAR's website.

International Foundation for Art Research -

05/25/2023

Sharon Flescher, IFAR's Executive Director, and Lisa Duffy-Zeballos, Art Research Director, discuss current issues in provenance research with Lisa Turvey in the latest issue of Gagosian Quarterly.

Read the complete issue online at
https://gagosian.com/quarterly/issues/summer-2023/

The Summer 2023 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Richard Avedon’s Marilyn Monroe, actor, New York, May 6, 1957 on its cover.

05/05/2023

There's still time to register for our in-person and virtual IFAR Evening on Monday, May 8!
For tickets go to: https://bit.ly/44KtXKf

04/21/2023

IFAR Evening: "Is There a Case for Connoisseurship in a High-Tech Era?"
Mon., May 8, 2023, 6-8 PM EDT
Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave., NY, NY

In our high-tech world, forensic testing and other scientific tools play an increasing role in determining authenticity. So, what is the role of connoisseurship today - and what IS connoisseurship anyway? IFAR's panel of distinguished art experts- John Elderfield, David Freedberg, Kate Ganz, and Carmen Melián- will discuss the case for connoisseurship.
Advance registration required (in-person & virtual) https://bit.ly/43NdCE5

International Foundation for Art Research -

03/20/2023

This weekend marked the 33rd Anniversary of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft.
In the early hours of March 18, 1990, thieves posing as policemen stole 13 works of art from the Museum, including paintings by Rembrandt, Degas and Vermeer. Despite numerous leads over the years, and the promise of a $10 million reward for the return of the artworks, the theft remains unsolved.

IFAR held programs to mark the 10th and 20th anniversaries of the crime. We published several articles in the Journal (including Vol. 12, n.1, 2010), and highlighted the Gardner Museum theft in IFAR's recent 50th Anniversary Journal (Vol. 20, n. 3/4, 2020/21). https://www.ifar.org/publications.php