In the current age of information technology, the need for the photo-documentation of art and antiques collections has become even more compelling than it ever before.

Art theft has been increasing rapidly as the value of works of art has been broadcast around the world through popular television programs and other media. Art, for the most part, is portable which makes it attractive to thieves. And now, art is even more marketable as the pool of collectors increases due to a growing awareness of potential value for good pieces, and as new collectors look to the art market as an alternate area for investment at a time when the traditional financial markets are in decline.

However, all the news in this new age is not bleak. Law enforcement agencies have new tools to find stolen pieces. Communication in cyber space has created new networking opportunities on a global scale. Art theft squads throughout the world can now transmit information at a moment’s notice which will increase the rate of recovery in years to come.

But the new information technology will only function if those servicing the system are given the data necessary to make it work. It is essential for law enforcement to have photographs of stolen works in order to retrieve them.

In 1998, the Getty Information Institute conducted a survey concerning the frequency of stolen works of art, the retrieval rate, and steps, which could be taken to make retrieval of stolen works easier. After nearly two years, they found that the incidence of art theft was on the rise and that on an annual basis only 10-15% of stolen works are found and returned to their rightful owners.

The main reason for this low rate of recovery was the fact that only a relatively small amount of photographs of stolen pieces are available to law enforcement officials. In addition, collectors frequently do not have proper inventories or descriptions of the works they own.

In an effort to remedy this situation, the Getty Information Institute codified a universal system of describing works of art called Object ID. The decision of what elements should be included in Object ID was made only after the Getty staff had consulted with many different groups of professionals who rely on precise descriptions of objects. These groups included law enforcement officials, museum curators, archaeologists, art dealers, appraiser organizations (including the Appraisers Association of America) and insurance companies which specialize in insuring works of art (such as Chubb). The final document included nine essential elements for a proper description. They are: the type of object, materials and techniques, measurements, inscriptions and markings, distinguishing features, title, subject, date or period, and maker.

In addition, Object ID stressed the importance of photographs. A proper description is most useful, but without the inclusion of a photograph, it is not as useful as it could be.

At the Getty Information Institute’s final conference (held before the publication of Object ID), numerous law enforcement officials testified that without photo-documentation they are frequently unable to re-unite stolen works with collectors. Sometimes thieves are apprehended and the police discover huge inventories of objects which are assumed to have been stolen. At that point it becomes the responsibility of the collectors to prove that the work seized by the police was originally in their collection. Without a photograph this job becomes extremely difficult.

Delegates at the conference were told the story of an important painting that had been stolen from an Italian noble family. The police recovered the work, among others, but the family was unable to document that they had actually owned the picture. Consequently, the orphaned painting remained for years hanging in the office of a minor government official, and it probably would have remained there were it not for an unusual occurrence. An art historian who was researching the artist who had painted the picture happened to visit the government office for a totally unrelated reason. He recognized the painting and knew that it had once belonged to the noble family. The government official told the art historian that this may indeed be the case but without any documentation the police were unable to return the painting. Fortunately the art historian knew that a description of the work was listed in a 17th century inventory. The historian supplied the police with this information, which, in turn, lead to the return of the painting.

Had the noble family bothered to photograph their collection, they would have had the painting returned to them years before.

A recent survey of readers of chubbcollectors.com provided both good and bad news. Readers were asked whether they photo-document their collection. The good news is that half of the respondents said that they do; the bad news is that the other half said that they do not.

One reason collectors put off the photo-documentation process is that they are not sure how to do it. If you fall into this category, you should be aware that, basically, any type of photo-documentation is better than nothing.

Photography can include traditional 35 mm snapshots, digital images and videotapes of rooms in which objects are kept. The clearer the image the better and for this reason the standard 35 mm shot is probably the best. These photos can be scanned and saved on a computer and transmitted to agencies who may be able to help in retrieval should the need arise.

Personal finance software packages frequently include room by room inventory programs which make it easier to organize, save and describe photographs.

It is also important to keep a copy of inventories of collections in a safe storage facility outside the home. This could prove to be crucial in settling an insurance claim should the home be totally destroyed.

The important point, however, is to begin the process of photo-documentation now and don’t put it off. The sooner one does this, the sooner one can have the security of having done all that is humanly possible to protect a treasured collection.

For more information on how to photo-document your collection, visit the Insurance Information Institute web site. This site contains details about the best practices in photo-documentation.