International Foundation for Art Research

The International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) is a not-for-profit educational and research organisation dedicated to integrity in the visual arts. IFAR offers impartial and authoritative information on authenticity, ownership, theft, and other artistic, legal, and ethical issues concerning art objects. IFAR serves as a bridge between the public, and the scholarly and commercial art communities. It publishes the quarterly IFAR Journal; organises conferences, panels, and lectures; offers a unique Art Authentication Research Service; and serve as an information resource.

IFAR was established in 1969 to fill a need for an impartial and scholarly body to educate the public about problems and issues in the art world and to research the attribution and authenticity of works of art. In the 1970's, IFAR's purview expanded to include art theft and looting, and art and cultural property law and ethics. IFAR serves a broad audience and operates at the intersection where the interests of art law, art collectors, museums, galleries, scholars, and the public meet. Among other goals, it works to prevent the circulation of forged, misattributed, or misappropriated art. IFAR has earned a reputation for objectivity, scholarship, and independence, and its assistance is sought world-wide by law enforcement and government agencies, collectors, educational institutions, researchers, journalists, and the vast public interested in the visual arts, who often have no where else to turn.