Project Description
Catalogue
Raisonné John Quincy Adams (1873-1933)
The project aims to produce a complete scientific documentation, description
and assessment (a so-called Catalogue Raisonné) of the artistic works of the
Austrian painter (with American roots) John Quincy Adams (see also his short
biography with links to selected works). All his works will be documented and
described, including short biographies of the sitters. It will also be put into
an artistic, social and biographical context to enable a comprehensive
assessment of the evolution of the artist’s work and its artistic and social
background.
The Catalogue Raisonné will be published in both English and German under a ‘creative
commons’ license (free use, except for commercial use) and will be made
available online freely and without charge. The online format allows the
catalogue to be continuously amended and expanded. The catalogue’s editor
(Arnulf Grubler) and contributing experts work for free on this scientific
research project. There is no commercial background. The artist’s grandson,
Count Johannes Walderdorff, as well as all the holders of major public
collections in Austria (the Belvedere, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Heeresgeschichtliches
Museum and the Wien Museum) support this research project, making reproductions
of works freely available for the catalogue, allowing online access to the works
of Adams in their collections, and assisting research with references and
documentation.
Why should owners of paintings by Adams support this project and assist its
research by providing photographs and information?
1. Researching and preserving our cultural heritage relies critically on the
support of private owners of art. Without their support, research would be almost
impossible, there would be no exhibitions, no public appreciation of art, and
no common identity through our shared cultural heritage. For research on the works
by Adams in private collections we simply ask for color photographs of the painting
and its signature, the dimensions of the painting, and -if available-
supplementary information on the subject or sitter. In return the catalogue’s
research can provide owners with valuable information. Are there matching
paintings (e.g. of family or relatives) in other collections, or comparable
paintings by other artists? What and who is depicted, and what is the story
behind the person in the painting (many of Adams’ sitters were the equivalent
of today’s celebrities). Therefore, both parties, owners and researchers can
learn from each other in this project.
2. Security. The anonymity of private owners is strictly guaranteed.
Attributions in the catalogue simply indicate ”private collection, country” (e.g.
”private collection, USA“), or the name of a museum and city (e.g. “Belvedere, Vienna“)
for public collections. Contact details will not be stored electronically, but
only in paper format and will not be passed on to third parties, except in case
of museum curators planning for an (alas highly unlikely) Adams exhibition. In such
case you will be asked to give your written consent before any information is
shared with a museum. Conversely, the catalogue improves the safety of your valuable
art. In case of loss, all necessary information (dimensions, photograph) is at
hand, and appropriate warnings in the catalogue can alert art dealers and
auction houses immediately through a simple consultation of a free online
resource (and without expensive registrations, e.g. the Lost Art Registry).
3. Economic
aspects are of no consideration for scientific research but can be in the case
of private owners. Should you in future decide to sell a work in your
collection it is well attested that market values depend on the documentation
of a piece of art. The catalogue thus can facilitate and ease market
transactions. The catalogue’s research team regrets that it is unable to
provide market value assessments for the works by Adams. For this purpose,
professional auction houses should be contacted. Full documentation is
available online and we would be happy to respond to queries on artistic,
biographical, or historical aspects of any work by Adams documented in the
catalogue.
contact:
Dr Arnulf Grubler Tel (office): +43 2236
807470
Wiedner Guertel 12/14a Tel (home): +43 1 504 3633
A-1040 Vienna, Austria Email: gruebler@iiasa.ac.at
or:
arnulf@chello.at
Online information, literature as well as a preview of selected works by Adams can
be found at (work in progress): http://www.iiasa.ac.at/~gruebler/JQA/JQA.html