As an art historian and curator whose specialty is sculpture, I'd say that
clarity and detail regarding dates are very important--especially
considering how complex casting is.  Even some art historians and curators
who have little interest in sculpture have difficulty understanding the
difference between completion date and cast dates, the difference between
lost wax and sand casts, and the difference between life and posthumous
casts.  Often that difficulty is compounded by inaccurate or incomplete
documentation.

Regarding dates, it is important to establish the date when the sculpture
was finished.  That could be days, weeks, or years before a mold was made
from the original model.  These days one finds entirely too many posthumous
bronze casts of important artists' work cast from original models that may
be decades old--some of which may not have been intended to be cast at all.

Anyway, for museum signage I recommend this format:  Chris Sculptor,
Artistic Nude (in italics), 1998 [the date the work was finished; after
which no changes were made to it], cast 2009.  [you may want to add the name
of the foundry, if known.]

If a sculpture was finished and cast in the same year, a single date may
suffice.  If it is part of an edition, all of which was cast in a few weeks
or months, it may not be necessary to determine whether cast 6 of 10 was
December or January.  On the other hand, if some of the edition was cast in
one foundry and some in another, or the edition was stretched out over
several years depending on demand or other factors, or it the "edition" was
never cast in its entirety, that information should be recorded and perhaps
shared with the public.


Michael W. Panhorst, Ph.D.
Curator of Art
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
One Museum Drive/POB 230819
Montgomery, AL 36123-0819
334.240.4353
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