Art Transparency Companies Authentify Art And ID4Arts To Merge

Authentify Art, a California-based fine arts technology company, and ID4ARTS, a New York manufacturer of art identification tags, have completed merger discussions, according to Curtis McConnell, CEO of Authentify and Anne Halliwell, co-founder of ID4ARTS. The specific terms of the merger were not disclosed, but ID4ARTS founders Anne and Steven Halliwell will join the Authentify Art team along with their patent-pending RFID technology.

"Building a more transparent and efficient art market will encourage broader collector engagement and increase trust in market integrity," McConnell stated, "leading to greater participation in the market. We firmly believe the global art market is ready for the kind of expansion that Carfax brought to the automotive industry, and Zillow did for real estate. The ID4ARTS tagging system allows works to have a unique and immutable serial number while respecting the work's physical condition and the collector's privacy. Formalizing a partnership and putting the companies together makes obvious sense."

"Authentify Art is, in our experience," Halliwell said, "the most comprehensive solution to the art market's need for secure data, strong and user-friendly visualization of works, and robust market growth. We have been pleased to join with Authentify Art to securely link the physical work to the wide range of digital solutions Authentify Art is bringing online and look forward to combining efforts."
Having invested in years of research and development, Authentify Art is in early market release for its first commercial product: a comprehensive online and offline solution that securely connects each physical art piece to a digital dossier describing it: features, specifications, ownership history, provenance, condition reports, etc., which can be shared or transferred at the owner's discretion. It also allows each piece to trigger a rich mobile storytelling experience for a viewer just by waving their smartphone over a matching object label.

Future product announcements from the two companies across a variety of categories are in the works.

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PRESS CONTACTS
Authentify Art: Michael Sattler, michael@authentify.art
ID4Arts: Steven Halliwell, steven@authentify.art.

About ID4Arts
ID4ARTS offers a tamper-resistant, non-invasive, battery-free identifier for works on canvas, paper, and a wide range of other materials. Using UHF (ultra high frequency) radio frequencies, the ID4ARTS Identifiers report a work's identification number, location, and time/date stamp instantaneously from up to 25 feet away. Unlike bar codes, the UHF technology does not require line of sight, allowing Identifiers to be hidden discreetly on a work, using a proprietary, conservator-approved adhesive. The tags are engineered to self-destruct if subjected to tampering, but are safely reversible by authorized parties.
Co-founder Anne Halliwell, together with her partner Steve Halliwell, helped launch The Collectors Fund in 2007, a Kansas City-based fund manager investing in post-war and contemporary American art. TCF sponsored two funds that circulate its holdings to fund investors. She previously brought hidden art from Russia in the post-Soviet era, and organized shows at The Brooklyn Museum and a series of European and US venues. She is trained in psychology under the supervision of Yale psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton. Steve Halliwell is a former Citibank executive responsible for corporate finance for the former Soviet Union and CEO/CFO of several direct investment funds for Russia. Steve Halliwell is a graduate of Columbia's Russian graduate studies center, the Harriman Institute.

About Authentify Art
Founded in 2020, AuthentifyArt has developed a series of patented solutions for the art world ranging from digital fingerprinting to interactive gallery labels to online data collection and sharing systems.
Founder Curtis McConnell brings together a career in supply chain technology and technology developed for scientific art authentication in collaboration with his mentor Prof. Maurizio Seracini, one of the world's foremost art authenticators. Previously, he led development of the design, development and implementation of the supply chain management systems for Proflowers and later led the engineering team for 1-800-Flowers. He holds a B.A. from Princeton University.

This release was published on openPR.