Fine Art Registry ~ High Tech Protection and Provenance

Fine Art Registry (FAR) appears to be a high tech solution to some age old problems that have existed in the art world since the days of Ancient Greece: how to establish provenance, and eliminate or reduce forgery, fakery, theft and other crimes. FAR’s system makes it possible for artists and collectors to permanently tag a work of art or an entire collection and register it securely in a central database. The system not only deters theft and helps recover lost or stolen items. It also enables the artist or collector to prove ownership in insurance claims, theft, copyright disputes and provides incontrovertible provenance information.

The owner (or artist) purchases uncounterfeitable, tamper evident tags ($2.25 each) online or by phone, applies a tag to each piece of art or other collectible, and registers the items online (free) in the official FAR database, using the Getty Object-ID information plus photos of the piece. The piece can remain in the owner's online gallery. Change of ownership is registered electronically (free) and the entire record moves to the new owner's gallery. Membership in FAR is quite inexpensive ($9.95 per year) and also provides access to a library of useful information in the form or articles and PDFs covering a broad range of material of interest to artists, collectors and art lovers. A free basic membership is also available.

Loss or theft is reported and posted (free) on the site – with full public access. The system has already assisted in recovery of missing pieces. As more and more collections are registered, the system will prove a powerful deterrent to art crime and an invaluable tool in organizing and listing art collections worldwide.

Artists, collectors, gallery directors, museum curators and anyone interested in making a permanent record of and protecting visual art and collectibles will find FAR to be a novel and valuable concept.

At the core of Fine Art Registry is a system which combines:

1. a high tech, one-of-a-kind, patented seal or tag for works of art and collectibles which helps identify them, establish authenticity and prevent fraud and theft
2. a secure, remote web site where artists can permanently register their art when they create it and where collectors, museums and galleries can register their entire collections.

The interactive web site was designed utilizing state-of-the-art security technologies and a customized database apparatus to record, identify, track, and manage fine art and valuables from the instant they are created or registered.

The Fine Art Registry system provides each registered art or collectible object with several unique and permanent identifiers.

This provides

1. a means of establishing provenance and ownership of art pieces for artists, collectors, museums, galleries, insurance companies and police forces
2. a system which is, to works of art or any valuable collectible, what the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) system is to cars or ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is to books. It enables artists and owners to positively, uniquely and permantly identify a piece of art.

FAR also includes :

1. an online gallery for artists where they can display and sell their art, with the advantage over many online galleries in that buyers will know they are getting an original work of art
2. an online location for collectors and other art buyers to buy art with the security of knowing that they are investing in a permanently registered and recorded art object
3. a central location to report stolen or lost art and to help with its recovery
4. secure, electronic transfer of ownership of art pieces so that there is a permanent record of new ownership, invaluable for tracing art pieces, establishing authenticity, for insurance purposes and so on
5. a general resource for artists and art lovers where they can learn more and where they can find useful resources.

The Tags ...10 or 100 years from now the provenance of a work of art can be verified on the FAR website, and its history traced.

Fine Art Registry tags are manufactured with multiple technological security layers which makes duplication, tampering, or counterfeiting of the tags virtually impossible. The tags work for most artwork and valuables. They are made with 100% acid-free materials and adhesives and are safe to apply to any artwork, rare book, manuscript, photograph, sculpture, antique gun, textile, or any other object of value. The tags have a readable serialized number as well as the Fine Art Registry approved seal. The additional covert layers of cutting-edge security technology that are manufactured into the patented tag offer a highly secure, versatile, and cost effective, solution to registering and tracking fine art and valuables.

Each Fine Art Registry tag is unique and so can be used to trace, identify and authenticate each item to its registered owner or maker. The tag is a strong deterrent against theft: law enforcement agencies can easily and conclusively identify authentic Fine Art Registry tags quickly and efficiently. Some of the same technology engineered into the tag is also used by the FBI.

The tag has an indefinite life. It does not have to be replaced. If any attempt is made to remove the tag, it self-destructs so it can’t be used again. It also leaves behind an acid free residue which the Fine Art Registry can identify but others would not be able to. The residue cannot be removed without damaging the piece.

But the tag also serves as an incontrovertible identifier by its absence. A work of art presented as an original which was in fact a forgery would be identified as such by the lack of a tag on work of art that would be previously recorded in the FAR registry by the owner who was known to have all his or her work registered. Similarly if a stolen piece had the tag removed , the lack of the tag would be a telltale sign.

Considerably more information, including video, is available at : www.fineartregistry.com