Pryor Cashman client ARIS Title Insurance Corporation, which is a member of the Argo Group and the world’s leading title insurance company for fine art and collectibles, today announced a major new initiative aimed at ultimately solving the problem of faked and forged art that plagues the market. Pryor Cashman is proud to assist the representation of ARIS in this initiative.

Specifically, ARIS will be supporting the creation of a new International Center of Innovation at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), which will have as its goal the development of scientific and related standards that will support the market’s development of readily accessible technologies that will ultimately eliminate doubt as to the authenticity of works of art.  SUNY University at Albany is one of the leading academic scientific research universities in the United States. 

ARIS’s Chairman, Lawrence Shindell, who helped to pioneer the concept of title insurance for art, together with SUNY University at Albany President Dr. Robert J. Jones, announced the development of standards that will guide the development of new “object-identifying technologies” that will essentially “mark” originally created works of art in scientifically permanent and non-intrusive or corruptive fashions.  These technologies are likely to involve the intersection of informatics, biotechnology and small-scale engineering and will be based on standards of reliability (to be known as the “SUNY Standards”) in the determination of whether art is actually original to the artist.

Both ARIS and SUNY University at Albany expect technologies to be beta-tested in the coming months among artists, dealers and art foundations in three leading international art markets, including New York, London and Berlin, with the standards rolling out in 15 months’ time.  As Dr. Jones explained, SUNY University at Albany’s goal is to “fast-track” the development of these standards and the new technologies to the market.  Dr. Jones referred to this initiative as a “game changer” in the art market, for which SUNY University at Albany is enthusiastic to play a leading role.  In attendance at today’s announcement were representatives of numerous stakeholders in the international art industry from government, to private sector, to the trade. 

Pryor Cashman represents ARIS in connection with its New York market initiative.  ARIS is represented by two of the co-chairs of the firm's Art Law practice, partners William Charron and Perry Amsellem.