Issue 2 - The Art Newspaper

4
NEWS ANALYSIS
THE ART NEWSPAPER FRIEZE ART FAIR Wednesday 10 October 2012
Let the examination begin
Frieze Masters joins the controversial world of vetting committees
PROVENANCE
London. The fair is only just opening,
but the exhibitors at Frieze Masters
may already be breathing a sigh of relief.
On Monday, all 99 booths went
under the scrutiny of a 20-strong vetting
committee, tasked with checking
the attribution, quality and condition
of works.
“Obviously for Frieze, vetting is a
new challenge, but it became clear very
quickly that it would play an important
role,” says Victoria Siddall, the director
of Frieze Masters. “Partly because we
want to be seen as a serious art historical
event, but also because we’re asking
collectors to buy items outside of their
normal area of expertise. Buyers in contemporary
art may be unfamiliar with
Old Masters, so we needed to be sure
they could buy with confidence.”
Replicating the stringent vetting
committees at Tefaf Maastricht, which
involves more than 170 specialists,
Frieze has brought together experts
[see box] on all of the periods of art displayed.
A significant exclusion from
the line-up, however, is fellow exhibitors.
“We decided early on that dealers would
not vet other dealers—we wanted that
layer of objectivity,” Siddall says.
For many years, Maastricht readily
allowed dealers to act on vetting committees,
but this has gradually been re-
duced. Occasionally it still happens: for
example, Peter Finer is on Tefaf’s arms
and armour committee and James Hennessy
vets early Asian art for the Dutch
fair. The Pavilion of Art and Design
fair, which opens in London this week,
also allows it. “They’re often the most
experienced specialists,” says Patrick
Perrin, a co-director of the fair, adding
that dealers cannot vet their own stands.
Although decisions are guided by
evidence provided by dealers and a set
criteria, it is the expert eye that dominates.
“Everyone has their own Tefaf
“[Vetting provides]
reassurance that
you’ll be showing
among the best”
vetting story,” says Robert Bowman,
the director of two galleries in London
who has worked on Tefaf’s vetting
committee for around 20 years. “In my
first year as an exhibitor, four marble
sculptures I had designed my booth
around were removed. They were labelled
as 19th-century, but [the sculpture
vetting committee] was concerned that
they looked [like they were] 17th-century
and could mislead visitors.” Committees
can change their minds on works that
were accepted in previous editions and
entire booths have been rejected, says
Henk Van Os, the chairman of Tefaf’s
Antiquities committee.
While art scholars are increasingly
concerned about being sued over authenticity
issues, vetting members can
voice opinions in confidence as the organisers
of both Tefaf and Frieze Masters
require the members to sign confidentiality
agreements. “The fact that no
one knows what has happened is the
reason why the process is so frustrating
but, at the same time, so effective,”
Bowman says. Nevertheless, gossip over
rejected works is rife.
At most vetted fairs, dealers can
appeal decisions, but this risks attracting
greater attention (one dealer describes
“20 vetting experts piling into a booth,
leaving the exhibitor outnumbered”).
It is up to the committee to “prove”,
or rather justify, its opinion and if
there is any uncertainty the dealer is
generally given the benefit of the doubt.
If an item is rejected, it is returned
to the dealer. “They basically say ‘do
what you want with it, just don’t show
it here’,” says Otto Naumann, the New
York-based Old Master dealer who previously
worked on Tefaf’s vetting team.
“We’re not the art police. People get
carried away with the idea of vetting.
We’re deciding what should be
in a fair, not the general art market,”
Bowman says.
Modern and contemporary art fairs
avoid these headaches as they rarely
Better to be
certain than sorry
Expert eyes
have vetting committees. Art Basel
and Fiac, for example, say there is no
need to check works on the primary
market. Living artists can verify authenticity
and the condition of works
is confirmed during the selection
process. The Art Loss Register also
works with numerous fairs.
With Modern art increasingly included
at historical art fairs though,
more vetting can be expected. “Rules
and regulations expand with the fairs,”
says Christian Vrouyr, the director of
the Brussels Antiques and Fine Art
Fair. “Contemporary art offers more
precise vetting possibilities and Modern
art has documented foundations and
catalogues raisonnés,” he says. Others
Charles Avery, previously the deputy keeper of sculpture at the
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Mattie Boom, a curator at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Xavier Bray, the chief curator of London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery
Andrew Butterfield, a specialist in European art
Taco Dibbits, the director of collections at the Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam
Ann Dumas, a curator at the Royal Academy of Arts, London
David Ekserdjian, a professor of the history of art at the
University of Leicester
Richard Falkiner, an independent consultant
Gaudenz Freuler, a professor of the history of art at
Kunsthistorisches Institut, Zurich
Jonathan King, formerly in the ethnographic
department at Christie’s. Previously a curator of
ethnography at the British Museum, London
Gregory Martin, a Flemish scholar
Susie Nash, a professor at London’s
Courtauld Institute of Art
Scott Schaefer, a curator of paintings at
The Getty Trust, Los Angeles
MaryAnne Stevens, the director of academic
affairs at the Royal Academy of Arts
Richard de Unger, a collector of Islamic art
Tim Teuten, the former head of Christie’s
department of African and Oceanic art
Oliver Wick, an independent curator
Hermione Waterfield, a tribal art expert who was
previously at Christie’s
Chantelle Rountree, the former head of antiquities at Bonhams
Simon Howell, the managing director of Shepherd Conservation
argue that contemporary art should
be more tightly checked. “All secondary
[market] art should be vetted,” says
Edward Horswell, a director at London’s
Sladmore Gallery (G8).
“They’re meant to be checking for
condition and quality, as well as
authenticity.”
Challenges aside, there is a consensus
that Frieze Masters made the right
decision and that vetting produces fairs
with higher-quality works. “It’s a guarantee
for exhibitors, as well as collectors,”
says Mira Dimitrova, the director
of the Robilant and Voena gallery (A4).
“It [provides] reassurance that you’ll
be showing among the best.”
Riah Pryor
© ISABEL POUSSET