I am mystified by the curators response myself. It sounds
          like a gobbledygook way of saying "I don't want to deal with
          you now." What is the non-private sector that this curator
          deals with: "I only do appraisals for federal, state, or
          local government agencies?"
 
          Maybe what he meant was that he only deals with other
          professionals, a kind of analogy to the antique shops that
          are only "to the trade" in NYC. I guess that's legitimate if
          its museum policy. I would contact the museum directors
          office to find out what the policy of the museum is. If the
          curator was just being shirty, then I would gently inform
          first the curator, and then the directors office that this
          attitude won't wash. You know the drill, "taxpayer dollars,
          alienating an interested constituent, membership, public
          service, yadda yadda." (sorry, in a cynical mood today.)
 
          Authenticity, on the other hand, may be very difficult to
          verify, so its possible that your acquaintance will need to
          pay for the information s/he wants.
 
          Eric Siegel
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