I am currently dealing with this while recording the results of network analysis in the TMS constituents module. If we can’t positively identify someone, we create a constituent using the known name, leave a note in Biography has to who it might be, with references to where we got the information. We use Biography in this way – a short summary of who they are or might be.

Eventually, this information or longer research notes goes into a constituents text entry called “Curatorial Remarks” to be added to as more is known. Past attributions, spellings, etc. are noted as well.

I will create a new constituent before I will assume the identity of someone, and this is where recording alternate names and spellings for known constituents is very useful. But I ALWAYS check existing records first before creating someone new. It’s time-consuming!

Later on, if a researcher is able to nail down an identification, we want them to be able to confirm it with the notes we’ve left, then follow through update an existing constituent, re-do associations with other constituents.

From: The Museum System (TMS) Users <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Mahdi, Fatima
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2021 4:15 PM
To: ListServ tmsusers <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Partially Identified Artists

External Email - Exercise Caution
Hi Chad! Thanks for this! So you're one of the Let's Catalog Everything school. I am fascinated by the way you've relabelled the fields! Forenames/Linking Name/Surname! So the linking name would be like "von" or "di"? That is very appealing!

On Thu, Jan 21, 2021 at 4:07 PM Chad Petrovay <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
External Email - Exercise Caution
This is a printer, identified only by their initials.

[cid:image002.png@01D6F013.32C16BB0]

On Thu, Jan 21, 2021 at 3:56 PM Mahdi, Fatima <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
External Email - Exercise Caution
Hello TMSers!

I am taking advantage of a quiet moment to dig into some of our problematic constituents.

What do you do if you have a "J. Giles", who, it turns out, is not actually an identified individual, we just have an English watercolor with a signature that looks like "J. Giles"? Do you:

A) make a constituent for J. Giles, English, dates unknown?

or

B) link the "Unknown" constituent to the object, and put something like "possibly J. Giles per signature" in the Suffix field?

Answers please on a postcard to... or just reply to this email!

Kind regards,

Fatima

--

Fatima Mahdi
Collections Information Specialist/TMS

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220-4007
Tel. 804.340.1443
Pronouns: she/her/hers

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Fatima Mahdi
Collections Information Specialist/TMS

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard
Richmond, VA 23220-4007
Tel. 804.340.1443
Pronouns: she/her/hers

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// eoj

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