Authentication & Registration of Works

Registration

The Arshile Gorky Foundation maintains a database that documents the paintings, sculptures, and works on paper created by Arshile Gorky. If you have not yet been contacted by the Foundation and own a work by Gorky, we would be grateful to receive information about the piece in your collection. To submit a work for inclusion in the database, please download and complete the following questionnaire: Gorky Registration Form

In addition to this form, we also ask that owners provide copies of letters, invoices and other documentation relevant to the work. If possible, we would also appreciate the donation of a color transparency (4 × 5 or 8 × 10) or high-resolution scanned image (minimum quality 400 d.p.i.) of your work. As a not-for-profit foundation, we are unable to employ our own photographic services at this time.

Please be assured that all information will be kept in strict confidence. Sending and receipt of the registration form does not guarantee that a work will be included in the Arshile Gorky database or any resulting publication, such as the Foundation’s ongoing catalogue raisonné project.

Authentication/Examinations

Owners of works attributed to Arshile Gorky may apply to the Gorky Foundation’s Catalogue Raisonné Committee for an examination of their work. For the Foundation to consider the examination, the owner must make a request in writing, submit a Registration form (see above), and supply a transparency or high-resolution digital image of the work in question.

For works that the Foundation has agreed to examine, the owner will be provided with an Examination Agreement. Please note that the Examination Agreement must be executed and returned to the Foundation prior to the examination. Following the exam, the Committee will issue a “Letter of Opinion” about the work. This is not a certification, but a summary of the Committee’s findings about the work and a statement as to whether the work will be included in the Catalogue Raisonné.  Please note that we do not provide opinions based on photographs of works of art.