ArtWatch International
ArtWatch International is an American nonprofit organization founded by James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University, to monitor, and campaign for better practices in, the conservation of art works. The United Kingdom branch, ArtWatch UK, is run by Michael Daley.
Activities
In 1991, Beck criticised the cleaning of Jacopo della Quercia's sculpture, the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca cathedral in Italy. As a result, the conservator sued him for "aggravated slander", which carries a possible three-year prison sentence. Beck won the case and subsequently co-founded ArtWatch.[1]
ArtWatch has been critical of many conservation practices and projects, including the restoration of
ArtWatch UK have included a commemorative issue on the late James Beck; a report on the damage to artworks in transit for blockbuster exhibitions; and articles critical of the results of restorations on modern painters like Gustav Klimt. The November 2008 ArtWatch UK journal contained 20 articles campaigning about developments in the UNESCO-protected city of Saint Petersburg.
Beck was, and Daley is, frequently outspoken and their opinions on recent restorations have been covered regularly by the press.
Ludwig Burchard
In April 2006 the ArtWatch UK Journal published research into Ludwig Burchard, a scholar who had made many attributions to
See also
- Art conservation and restoration
- Frank Herbert Mason Artwatch activist and artist
References
- ^ "In Memoriam", The Art Newspaper, July/August 2007.
- ^ ukic.org
- ^ artwatchinternational.org Archived December 31, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Times