David:

A major new museum security story is just breaking in the UK.

As you know most of the emphasis is on stopping visitors taking things
out of museums, archives etc. not on stopping them smuggling things in.

However, art fraud arrests in London at the end of last week have shown
up that one cannot make that logical assumption.  It is claimed that
organised gangs of art fraudsters have been visiting the extremely
extensive archives of the London Tate Gallery as apparently legitimate
researchers asking to see the Gallery's own archives and the deposited
records of important art dealers.  While there, however, the records have
been added to, and/or changed, in order to build up an apparently
entirely legitimate provenance for the gang's fakes (eg. by changing
and adding to genuine exhibition and sales records, receipts false
provenances on the fake material).  Then other accomplices have
subsequently been able to use the falsified archives in order to
"prove" the authenticity and provenance of the gang's fakes, including
Giacomettis, Ben Nicholsons etc. which they are putting on the market.

According to press reports the British Council (which has been the
leading organiser of overseas British art exhibitions over the past 50
years) has also become suspicious about some users of its fine
art library and archives.  There is no information yet as to
whether the scam has been used to "launder" stolen works of art as
well, or whether the techniques has only been used with forgeries,
but there are clearly important museum security issues that perhaps
ICOM-ICMS should be looking as urgent business during your
forthcoming meeting in Poland.

Also, art museums (especially modern art museums) around the world ought
to be watching out and checking for signs of similar activity.  Building
up a totally false provenance for a fake is likely to involved the use of
the records of more than one institution.

Patrick Boylan
Vice-President of ICOM