I also like the term unidentified versus unknown which is what we currently use.

________________________________
From: The Museum System (TMS) Users [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Garton, Susan [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2017 5:58 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Unknown vs Unidentified

The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery has always used “Unidentified Artist”--since way back when we were using a flat file system in the 1970s. I’m guessing the standard came from the catalouging guidelines developed by NPG’s research archive, the Catalog of American Portraits, but I’d have to really dig to find the documentation.


[cid:image001.png@01D16E4E.942FCC80]<http://npg.si.edu/>

Sue Garton
Data Administrator and Acting Head of
Collections Information & Research Archive
Smithsonian
National Portrait Gallery

[log in to unmask]<mailto:GartonS@si.edu>  |  202.633.8554

From: The Museum System (TMS) Users [mailto:[log in to unmask]SI.EDU] On Behalf Of Nicola Astles
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2017 4:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Unknown vs Unidentified

Hi Fatima,

Our director also prefers "Unidentified" over "Unknown" artist and we've been making the change in TMS.

I suppose it's a subtle difference, but I like "unidentified" because it implies the artist's identity could still be discovered, while "unknown" sounds more final, like the museum has given up trying to learn more about the object.

I'd be curious to hear what other institutions are doing as well.



Nicola Astles
Museum Content and Technology Administrator
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, New York 10024
[log in to unmask]<mailto:nicola.astles@nyhistory.org>
212-873-3400 x338

On Thu, Dec 28, 2017 at 4:00 PM, Mahdi, Fatima (VMFA) <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]museum>> wrote:
Hi folks!

Is anyone at an institution that is using “Artist: Unidentified” in TMS and/or on object labels for unidentified artists rather than “Artist: Unknown”? Has anyone noticed a move in the direction of “Unidentified”, or does anyone know of any discussion of this issue online or in print?

One of our curators is in favor of “Unidentified”, and I like it better, too, but it will be easier to sway the institution if we can say that others are thinking along these lines.

Thanks, All!


Fatima Mahdi
Collections Information Specialist/TMS
[VMFA-web-sig]
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
200 N. Boulevard <https://maps.google.com/?q=200+N.+Boulevard+%0D+Richmond,+VA+23220&entry=gmail&source=g>
Richmond, VA 23220<https://maps.google.com/?q=200+N.+Boulevard+%0D+Richmond,+VA+23220&entry=gmail&source=g>-4007
T 804.340.1443<tel:(804)%20340-1443>
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]museum>





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