America's Distinguished Artists

a national registry of historic artists

A few words on accuracy and trustworthiness

Biographers have varying motives, levels of credentials and care exhibited in their research. Some biographers:

• hold advanced degrees in art history
• are widely published
• teach and conduct research in art history departments of universities
• are curators or directors of museums
• are independent curators
• have first-hand knowledge of the artist
• are widely regarded as an expert in the works of an artist

The above indicators may lend evidence that the biographer can be considered a trusted source. Wherever possible, Resource Library, our publication including articles and essays, includes information about authors following related texts.

TFAO advises individuals researching an artist to carefully consider the credentials of the biographer. Less credence should be given to a biography without reference to its author. If a name is stated, the researcher should weigh the credentials of the author in assessing the quality of the biography. There may be a widely-regarded top expert for an artist. It's worthwhile to find that top expert.

Some biographers are meticulous and thorough, others less careful in their research. The quality level of an author's texts may be inconsistent, just as is the case of an artist's works written about.

Biographies can be written for a mix of motives. Motives can slant what content is added and withheld from a biography. Study the context in which the biography was written to discern how motives may color the quality and relevance of the biography. Common motives include:

• compensation for writing the biography
• familial love of a deceased artist
• academic research

Authors may embellish facts in order to enhance monetary value of an artist's entire production, a block of work or a particular work. Further motives to consider when attributing value to a biography might include:

• Was the text written to influence the sale of an artist's work?
• Did the financial support of a museum patron influence the "slant" of the text?

Many biographies found online plagiarize portions of previously written texts. All versions may be inaccurate. Since articles and essays in Resource Library often contain biographical information on artists written by separate authors, you may cross-check facts presented with relative ease using its search feature. When discrepancies in objective facts are found, such as dates of birth and death, awards, roster of exhibits and the like, TFAO encourages you to seek additional sources or contact the sources of conflicting information to allow you to choose the version of facts satisfactory to you. Subjective opinions by authors will of course vary, as they should.

In many cases you should consider information presented in America's Distinguished Artists as a starting point for your research, especially information our volunteers found on the Web that is not within Resource Library articles and essays.

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Copyright 2011 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.