ULAN Editorial Guidelines: 3.6 Biographical Information (Getty Research Institute)

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3. Editorial Rules, continued

EDITORIAL RULES, CONTINUED

3.6

Biographical Information

Included in this chapter

Display Biography (required)

Nationality (required)

Preferred Flag (required-default)^[1]

Sequence Number (required-default)

Role (required)

Preferred Flag (required-default)

Sequence Number (required-default)

Historical Flag (required-default)

Dates for Role

Birth Date / Death Date (required)

Birth Place / Death Place

Sex (Gender) (required)

Biography Preferred Flag (required-default)

Contributors (required)

Examples
[from VCS, for Bartolo di Fredi; partial display, in two sections]

[from an end-user display, for Bartolo di Fredi]

3.6.1

Display Biography (required)

3.6.1.1

Definition
A concise expression of the nationality, major roles (e.g., architect, painter, sculptor), birth and death dates of the person or the places, activities, and dates of existence of the corporate body.

Example
American architect and engineer, 1898-1976
Italian architectural firm, founded 1953

3.6.1.2

Values
Display Biography is a free-text field in Unicode. In legacy data, values are ASCII characters (including numbers) with diacritics expressed according to the codes in Appendix A.

3.6.1.3

Sources
The same standard general references that are appropriate for the rest of the record may be used for the display biography.

3.6.1.4

Discussion
The Display Biography appears with the preferred name in displays. When necessary, the Display Biography is used to express nuance, uncertainty, and ambiguous information regarding the artist's life dates, roles, or nationality. Information in the Display Biography is indexed by the following controlled fields Nationality, Role, Birth Date, and Death Date.

Note that the Display Biography, and all other biographical information in the ULAN record, should include only well-documented, authoritative data. Personal privacy is paramount. Thus do not include speculative information, particularly for people who are living or were recently living. For living or recent people, the following data should be included only if it is authoritatively documented that the person self-identifies as such: Sex, gender identity or sexual preference (recorded under field having the abbreviated field tag Nationality), ethnicty, race, or religion (as pertinent to the professional or artistic roles of the person). Even names may be considered confidential, if they reveal personal information about the person (e.g., for a transgender individual). See individual fields below for further guidance.

For historical people, biographical information should be well-documented. But what does that mean, exactly? A contrarvening rule is that if there is debate about an item of data among scholarly or other authoritative sources — while the Display information may express this debate or omit the controversial information — both views should be indexed to allow research and retrieval. As of this writing, regarding historical personal information, the guideline for ULAN is that if the person has died 100 years ago or more, you may index debated but well-documented scholarly opinions.

For us the issue of how to record personal information remains open, to be guided by the findings of groups and committees in the art documenation community and in related disciplines. Thus, ULAN guidelines could be altered if our current rules prove unsatisfactory. Given that we rely upon contributions to grow the Vocabularies, let us strongly emphasize to contributors that this type of data must be documented in authoritative sources.

Each contributed record includes a display biography. When records are merged, the original contributed display biographies are retained, with an indication of which contributor submitted which biography. Note that biographical information for the same artist is often expressed differently by the various contributing institutions. One of the biographies is flagged as preferred; this is the one that appears with the preferred name in labels, results lists, and other displays. In the example below, the Vocabulary Program (VP) has added a biography and flagged it preferred.
- Example
  [from ULAN on the Web]

3.6.1.5

RULES for Display Biography

3.6.1.5.1

Minimum requirements for Display Biography
The Display Biography is required. Record a concise phrase noting the biographical details of the person or corporate body. The preferred Display Biography is used with the preferred name to create labels or headings in lists.

If information is ambiguous or uncertain, include appropriate indicators such as ca. or . However, distinguish between what is knowable as opposed to what is simply unknown to you as cataloger. Using indicators of uncertainty in the Display Biography or any other text field means that scholarly opinion is divided or uncertain. If it is the case that you, as cataloger, are simply lacking this information, do not include your own guess or estimation in the record (unless you are an expert scholar yourself). For example, if you know where the person worked but not their nationality, you should indicate, for example, printmaker, 18th century, active in England rather than printmaker, probably English, 18th century. However, when indexing the biographical information, you may typically include estimations that will allow retrieval, provided the Display Biography information is clearly expressed (i.e., in the example above, you could index in the Nationality field English or the broader British). Please see further discussion of these issues in sections below.

Capitalization and abbreviation
Capitalize nationality, culture, place names, period names, or other proper nouns. Use lower case for all other words. Avoid abbreviations, except the word circa (ca.), the numbers in century or dynasty designations (e.g., 17th century), and BCE and CE.

Examples
Russian painter, 1893-1936
American miniaturist, active 1860s
Greek architect and archaeologist, 1887-1979
Native American craftsman, 18th century
French porcelain manufactory, flourished 1731-1794
Roman sculptor, 1st century BCE

Syntax
List information in the following order: nationality, role(s), comma, birth year, hyphen, death year (start and end dates for a corporate body).

Examples
Indian sculptor, 1923-1982
British architectural firm, 1910-1944
Flemish sculptor and architect, 1529-1608, active in Italy
Maya vase painter, 17th century

If "probably" or other indications of uncertainty are included, change the order and syntax for clarity. Theses indicators in Display Biography should reference the opinions of scholarship, not the cataloger's own gueses.
- Example
- sculptor, probably Polynesian, 19th century
If birth or death dates are unknown, dates of activity may be substituted in the Display Biography.
- Example
- Mexican mosaicist, active ca. 1820-ca. 1840
Include the place of activity if the nationality is unknown or if the place of activity is different than that implied by Nationality. Use natural word order.
- Examples
- Flemish sculptor and architect, 1529-1608, active in Italy
- Greek architect, active 4th century in southern Italy
- printmaker, 18th century, active in England

3.6.1.5.2

Ambiguity and uncertainty
Avoid phrasing the text in a way that can be confusing or ambiguous, basing the text on information in authoritative sources. Clearly indicate uncertain information (e.g., in the examples below "after," "active by," "or," "before," "probably").

Examples
Netherlandish painter, ca. 1564-after 1612
French or Flemish draftsman, active by 1423, died 1464
Russian illuminator and designer, probably 1862-before 1910

Caveat: When your source indicates that biographical information is ambiguous or uncertain among the scholarly community, be sure to convey this with appropriate terminology, such as "ca.", "probably", or other appropriate expressions of vagueness. Do not estimate or guess without supporting knowledge or documentation; only state as much as you know. Do NOT state as fact information about which you are uncertain. The difference can be subtle, and you must be aware of the particular phrasing and accepted expressions of vagueness generally used by art historians.
- For example, if your source states that birth and death dates for an Italian painter are unknown, but that he produced works dated 1312, 1323 and 1326, the display biography could read Italian painter, active from at least 1312, or alternatively, Italian painter, active early 14th century. It should NOT read Italian painter, active 1312-1326, because expressing this precise span suggests that he worked only during those years, and that you are sure that no works were produced earlier or later; this is inaccurate, given that it is highly unlikely that the entire oeuvre of such an early artist is accounted for.
Caveat: Use indications of uncertainty such as probably or possibly only when the current scholarly opinion is uncertain. If you, the editor or cataloger, are simply lacking the information, but the information is "knowable" given enough time and research, do NOT use probably or possibly because this implies you have access to more scholarly research than you actually do. Instead, phrase the information in another way or, if that is not possible and the information is required, consult with your supervisor. If instructed by your supervisor, put this record in a "temp.parent" candidate hierarchy pending further research.

3.6.1.5.3

Anonymous persons
For an anonymous person, or for any other person or corporate body where biographical information is unknown or incomplete, record the deduced nationality or locus of activity and approximate dates of activity, but only as warranted by authoritative sources.

Examples
Italian painter, active 1330s-1340s
sculptor, probably Spanish, active 18th century in California

3.6.1.5.4

Non-artists
If the person had an important role other than artist, include it in the display biography.

Example
Spanish queen regent and painter, 1806-1878

3.6.1.5.5

Index biographical information
Use controlled fields to index important biographical information in the preferred Display Biography, including, nationality, roles, and birth and death dates. NOTE: You should index only the Preferred Biography, generally not the Biographies supplied by other contributors.

Example
Display Biography: French architect and designer, 1871-1922
Controlled fields
Nationality:
French
Roles:
architect
designer
Birth Date: 1871
Death Date: 1922

3.6.1.5.6

Editing contributed biographies
You may edit the Vocabulary Program's Display Biography, but do NOT delete or edit the Display Biography from other contributors. If there is no display biography that follows our editorial rules or is otherwise adequate for display, create a new Display Biography with the contributor initials "VP" (for Vocabulary Program); make the VP Display Biography preferred.

Examples
[the first biography is by VP]

Caveat: The items of biographical information all the way across the row must come from the contributor indicated at the far right of the row (see example above). Thus, if a contributed display biography would be adequate, however the row does not have the correct Birth Place, Death Place, or other indexed information that you wish to include, do NOT simply add this information to the contributor's row. Create a new preferred Display Biography with VP as the contributor, and add the Birth Place, etc. as necessary to the VP row.
If you have created a Display Biography, and if the Birth Date, Death Date, Birth Place, etc. of other contributors' rows are incorrect or conflict with the VP information, delete any conflicting indexed information; but do not edit or delete other contributors' display biographies! In the example above, only the dates and other indexing information for the preferred Display Biography remain; but the Display Biographies for all contributors are intact.

3.6.1.5.7

Additional rules
For additional rules for the elements that make up the Display Biography, see separate sections on Nationality, Roles, and Birth and Death Dates below.

3.6.2

Nationality (required)

3.6.2.1

Definition
A reference to the nationality, culture, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual identity, or sexual orientation or preference of the person or corporate body. Nationality is referred to in the Display Biography and indexed in the Nationality fields.

Examples

English	Nigerian
Vietnamese	Native American
Sienese	Italian
Celtic	Berber
Ancient Roman	Jewish
Canadian	LGBTQ

[Display Biography and Nationality fields from VCS]

3.6.2.2

Values
In the Nationality field, values are controlled by the Nationality list at the time of this writing; the list is mapped to the AAT and linked in published ULAN data. See full list in VCS. In the free-text Display Biography, generally use the same controlled values as found in the controlled Nationality field.

Each Nationality in the controlled Nationality List comprises a numeric code and a term. In the meantime, since the terms are yet not linked to the hierarchies of AAT, these Nationality Codes are devised so that searching on the truncated code will retrieve similar things. For example, if you search for "901%" in the partial list illustrated below, you will retrieve all the Nationalities in Europe (the percent sign is the wildcard in VCS).

3.6.2.3

Sources
Use the same standard general references that are used for the rest of the record.

3.6.2.4

Discussion
If it is appropriate to express nuance or uncertainty about the nationality, do so in the Display Biography. Index the nationality in the Nationality field. Nationality does not necessarily indicate legal citizenship of a particular nation, empire, or city state. It refers to a prolonged association of an artist with a given place. Nationality may refer to historical nations (e.g., Flemish). It may also refer to culture (e.g., Frankish) or ethnic groups (e.g., Native American). Artists may have multiple nationalities, particularly when they lived for prolonged periods in more than one nation, or when one so-called nationality is more general than another that also applies to the artist (e.g., for an ancient vase-painter, Greek and Ancient Greek are broader, general designations, while Attic is more specific).

This field may also include terms for culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender identity (e.g., gender non-binary), or sexual orientation or preference. Again, we strongly emphasize that such indicators should reflect well-documented information about how the person self-identifies, particularly for recent or living persons. For example, do not index race or gender identity based on the name or appearance of the person, or on the race or gender identities of their associates. Typically, do not include religion (e.g., Roman Catholic) unless this is pertinent to an important role (e.g., bishop) or pertains to the focus of their oeuvre (e.g., role is icon painter).

3.6.2.5

RULES for Nationality

3.6.2.5.1

Minimum requirements
In the Display Biography, list the most significant national affiliation of the artist; on rare occasions, a second nationality may be recorded in the Display Biography. Record the adjectival name form of a nation, other place name, culture, or ethnic group.

Examples
Display Biography: Japanese photographer, born 1943
Display Biography: South African architect, 1907-1992

In the Nationality field, link to terms referring to the national, geopolitical, cultural, or ethnic origins or affiliation of the person or corporate body referred to in the preferred Display Biography. Note that this element does not always refer only to nationality in a modern, legal sense.

Specificity
For the Display Biography, generally record a designation at the level of nation (e.g., Italian) or a broad culture or ethnicity (e.g., Native American). Exceptions occur for historical nationalities, in keeping with common practice of various disciplines in art history (see Historical nationalities and Special cases below).
- When indexing in the Nationality field, link to the broad culture or nationality as appropriate, and also include a more specific designation if known and when appropriate (e.g., Sioux in addition to Native American in the example below).

Example
[for Kicking Bear]

Exception: Contributors may occasionally choose to use a specific nationality designation in the Display Biography rather than a broad one, typically because their local practice dictates using a term for the Nationality that is not in the ULAN controlled nationality list (i.e., it is a term synonymous to the ULAN Nationality term). For example, if the ULAN Nationality controlled term for a culture is Crow, but the contributor prefers the synonym Absahrokee, in order to record the biography to reflect their preference, they may write a Display Biography using Absahrokee (e.g., Absahrokee craftsman, 19th century) rather than the broad Native American. Indexing terms would be the same in either case: Native American and Crow.

3.6.2.5.2

Uncertain Nationality
In the Display Biography, use "or" if authoritative sources maintain that one of two nationalities are possible. Use "probably" or another indication of uncertainty if it is used by authoritative sources. As with all information that will be visible to end-users, do not make a guess.

Examples
Display Biography: artist, probably British, active 16th century
Nationality:
British
Display Biography: engraver, probably Spanish, active in Mexico 16th century
Nationality:
Spanish
Event: active Location: Mexico

3.6.2.5.3

Regions
If scholarly opinion holds that the nationality is uncertain, or for modern artists for whom legal nationality is uncertain or unstated in your source, use a broader context such as a reference to a region or a continent, if possible (e.g., Eastern European and African below). Index any known national affiliations in the Nationality field.

Examples
Display Biography: Eastern European calligrapher and scribe, died 1575
Nationality:
Eastern European
Croatian
Hungarian
Austrian
Display Biography: African architect, contemporary
Nationality:
African

3.6.2.5.4

Multiple nationalities

Dual citizenship
And: If a modern person holds dual citizenship, record both nationalities using the word "and" in the Display Biography.

Example
Display Biography: Canadian and American painter, born 1946
Nationality:
Canadian
American

Other multiple nationalities
Other than with modern dual citizenship described above, it is rare that two nationalities would be cited in the Display Biography with the word "and"; however, multiple nationalities should be indexed in the Nationality field as necessary. Typically, if the artist worked in two nations, it is better to unambiguously explain the situation in the display biography, and then index the nationalities and places appropriately.
- To choose which nationality to write in the nationality area of the Display Biography, use the nationality classification that is predominantly used in authoritative sources. Index both/all nationalities in the Nationality field.

Examples
[most sources call this artist "Italian," although he was born in Germany]
Display Biography: Italian photographer, 1833-1896, born in Germany
Nationality:
Italian
German
Birth Place: Dresden (Dresden district, Saxony, Germany)

[most sources call this artist "French," although he was active in England]
Display Biography: French ceramicist, 18th century, active in England
Nationality:
French
British
English
Event: active Location: England

International
Use international for multinational corporations. Do not use it for persons who have multiple citizenships or who have worked in multiple nations.

Example
Display Biography: International architectural organization, 1928-1959
Nationality:
International

3.6.2.5.5

Preferred nationality
In the Nationality field, for the preferred Nationality, choose the Nationality used most often to describe the national or cultural affiliation of the person or corporate body, which is generally a broad designation (e.g., Italian rather than Florentine). Flag the preferred Nationality. See Preferred Flag below.

For indexing in the Nationality field, the preferred nationality should be chosen according to the order in the following decision tree:
- the primary nationality for this person;
- if it is unclear which is primary, use the first one chronologically;
- if the nationality is uncertain, list the more/most likely one first;
- if none of the above applies, use the first one listed in your source;
- if all else fails, use the first one in alphabetical order.
  - Examples
    [person had two nationalities over a lifetime]
  - Display Biography: Chinese architect, 1898-1967, naturalized American
    Nationality:
    Chinese (preferred)
    American
    
    [nationality is described as uncertain by scholars]
  - Display Biography: Dutch or German printmaker, 16th century
    Nationality:
    Dutch (preferred)
    German
Generally, make the broad designation the preferred Nationality. If you have included a very specific historical designation in the Display Biography (e.g., Sienese) index both the specific designation and the broader context (e.g., both Italian and Sienese). Likewise, if you have included a very general designation in the Display Biography, in keeping with common practice in a given discipline, include a specific designation in the Nationality field, as appropriate.

3.6.2.5.6

Place of activity
If the individual or group was active in a place other than the place implied by the nationality, in the Display Biography include "active in …" after the life dates, as in the example below. The place of activity should be indexed both as an additional Nationality and as an Event (Locus of Activity), as warranted. See also 3.7 Events.

Example
[from VCS, for Le Corbusier; Display Biography vs. indexed Nationalities]

3.6.2.5.7

Historical nationalities
In the Display Biography, include a historical nationality when warranted (e.g., for a 14th-century artist from Brussels, it is common practice in the discipline of Medieval Art History to list the nationality as Flemish rather than Belgian, because Belgium was not a nation until the 19th century).

In the Nationality field, index the historical nationality.
For historical persons, you may record the adjectival name of a city-state, if known and if appropriate for a specific discipline (e.g., Attic in reference to ancient Greek artists). Ethnicity and culture may be included as warranted.

Special cases
For the preferred Nationality and for the Display Biography, if there is potential confusion between a historical nationality and a modern one with the same or a similar name, generally use the term for the historical nationality if possible. However, be consistent with the idiosyncratic scholarly practice common in the given discipline. A few guidelines are given below:
- Italian: Use Italian as the preferred nationality for all artists active on the peninsula of Italy, even when they lived before the nation of Italy was united in 1870. Where warranted by common scholarly practice, you may use a more specific designation in the Display Biography (see Florentine example above) if warranted by authoritative sources.
- Ancient Greek, Egyptian, etc.: Use Greek or Egyptian in the display biography for ancient Greek and Egyptian artists. Index with Greek or Egyptian as the preferred Nationality. Include Ancient Greek or Ancient Egyptian as a non-preferred indexed Nationality. Where warranted by common scholarly practice, you may use a more specific designation in the Display Biography (see Attic example above).
- Flemish: Use the following date ranges to distinguish between Flemish, Belgian, Netherlandish, and Dutch:

Netherlandish: pre-1579, north or south
Dutch: post-1579, nation of The Netherlands only
Flemish: pre-1830, south only
Belgian: post-1830, nation of Belgium only

British: Use the specific terms, English, Scottish, etc., in the Display biography. For the preferred Nationality in the Nationality field, use British.
Czech: Use Czech only for artists from the Czech area of Europe after 1918 (also note that the Czech Republic split from Czechoslovakia in 1993; do not use Czech for modern Slovakian artists). For artists living earlier than 1918, use a specific term such as Bohemian, or another appropriate term.

3.6.2.5.8

Culture
Where appropriate, list the culture of the person or corporate body (Aztec, Hutu) as a non-preferred Nationality. This is appropriate when the culture does not correspond to a defined geopolitical area and time period, as when various tribal lands overlap or exist within a political state (e.g., the Native American tribes in the USA), or when a cultural group migrated across wide areas and thus is not associated with one limited region (e.g., the Celtic, Hebrew). Generally, the broader designation should be used in the Display Biography; however, see the discussion of exceptions under 3.6.2.5.1. Minimum Requirements: Specificity above.

Examples
Display Biography: Native American draftsman, ca. 1850-1927
Nationality:
Native American (preferred)
Southern Cheyenne
Display Biography: Hebrew scribe, active 1476-1482, active in Spain
Nationality:
Hebrew (preferred)
Spanish

Dynasties
Dynasties may be used to obliquely refer to culture when this is common in a given discipline (e.g., Ming dynasty).

Example
Display Biography: Chinese painter and scholar, Ming dynasty, 1470-1524
Nationality:
Chinese (preferred)
Ming

3.6.2.5.9

Ethnicity, Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation
In the so-called Nationality field, list the ethnic or racial group to which the person belongs when this is a primary designation used for this person by authoritative sources (e.g. Native American, African American, Polynesian). If this is the primary designation for the person, use it in the Display Biography.

Example
Display Biography: Australian Aboriginal painter, ca. 1908-1967
Nationality: Australian Aboriginal (preferred)

For sensitive or private information, such as religion or sexual orientation, do not include the information except in the following situations: If this information is commonly published in references to the person and if the person self-identifies and wishes for the information to be public. For example, membership in the LGBTQ community is becoming a factor in research about art; if the artist wishes their sexual orientation included, and if this information is published in standard reference sources and otherwise commonly known, you may index the appropriate terms in this field.

3.6.2.5.10

Adding new Nationalities
Nationalities should be derived from AAT. If the nationality is missing from the controlled list in VCS, as your supervisor to add it (this situation will be resolved once the field is linked to the AAT).

3.6.3

Preferred Flag for Nationality (required-default)

3.6.3.1

Definition
Flag indicating whether or not the Nationality is preferred for its subject record.

3.6.3.2

Values
The flags are controlled by a pick list in VCS: P - Preferred, N - Non-Preferred

3.6.3.3

Discussion
Every record must have a preferred Nationality.

3.6.3.4

RULES
The first Nationality entered is automatically flagged "preferred" by the system. If this is not correct, change the Preferred Flag accordingly.

3.6.4

Sequence Number for Nationality (required-default)

3.6.4.1

Definition
The Display Order number (or Sort Order number), indicating the sequence of the Nationality in relation to the other Nationalities of a ULAN record.

3.6.4.2

Values
System generated, but the numbers may be changed by the editor. Values begin with 1 and are numbered sequentially; there is no upper limit imposed by the system.

3.6.4.3

Discussion
Most records have one Nationality. It would be highly unusual to require more than two or three nationalities for a person or corporate body. If you feel you need to add more than that, consult with your supervisor.

3.6.4.4

RULES

Number the Nationalities in sequence. Do not skip numbers.
The Nationality in sequence number 1 must be the Preferred Nationality.
Arrange the Nationalities in order of importance from a researcher's point of view, or from general to specific. If chronology is an issue, place Current Nationalities before Historical ones.

3.6.5

Role (required)

3.6.5.1

Definition
A term that characterizes a significant role or characteristic of a person or a function or purpose of a corporate body. The primary role or roles are stated in the Display Biography. These primary roles and all other significant roles are indexed in the Role field.

Examples

painter	architect	landscape architect
sculptor	architectural firm	portraitist
printmaker	museum	marine painter
goldsmith	art academy	author
illuminator	religious order	pope
historian	publisher	archaeologist

[from VCS]

3.6.5.2

Values
As of this writing, values are controlled by the Role list. See Role lists in the published data updated monthly, Appendix F (which is likely not up-to-date), or search the list in VCS. With the release of ULAN as LOD, the roles are now mapped to AAT; we anticipate the control of roles by linking to AAT in the future. See Appendix E or search the list in VCS. Use the values from the controlled list for the role in the free-text Display Biography.

Each Role in the Role List comprises a numeric code and a term. Codes are devised so that searching on the truncated code will retrieve similar things (the percent sign is the wildcard in VCS).

3.6.5.3

Sources
Use the same general reference works that are used for other information in the record.

3.6.5.4

Discussion
If it is necessary to express nuance or uncertainty about the roles, do so in the Display Biography. Index roles in the Role field. Roles are the major professional roles or activities performed by the person throughout his or her lifetime (e.g., artist, architect, sculptor). For a corporate body, roles include the major activities or purpose of the firm, institution, or other corporate body (e.g., studio, manufactory, workshop).

3.6.5.5

RULES for Role

3.6.5.5.1

Minimum requirements
In the Display Biography, record at least one but generally not more than three Roles.

In the Role field, list the role(s) in the Display Biography as well as any appropriate additional Roles, as time and editorial priorities allow.

Specificity
In the Display Biography, use the most specific significant roles (e.g., painter rather than artist), if known. For example, German painter and printmaker, 1678-1732 is better than German artist, 1678-1732. However, the general role artist or another very general role should typically be indexed as the first role in the Role field.
- Include only the most significant professional roles in the Display Biography. Typically, there should be only one or two roles in the Display Biography; use three if necessary. If there are more than three roles applicable to the artist, index them in the Role field, but avoid including them in the Display Biography.

Example
Display Biography: Russian painter and sculptor, 1789-1852
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
sculptor

Broader contexts
In the Display Biography, for corporate bodies that are part of a larger corporate body, include the name of a broader context along with the role, for clarity.

Example
Display Biography: American, division of the Disney Company, contemporary
Roles:
division (preferred)
studio
animator(s)
Display Biography: American research institute, part of the National Gallery of Art, founded 1979
Roles:
research institute (preferred)

Singular vs. plural
In the Display Biography, for persons, use roles expressed in the singular (e.g., architect, painter). For corporate bodies, use a role that describes the entity (e.g., architectural firm, studio) or that is expressed in the plural (e.g., painters).
- In the Role field, some controlled values for roles are used for both singular and plural, expressed by using an "s" in parentheses (e.g., wood engraver(s)). In the Display Biography, use the correct singular or plural, without the parentheses.

3.6.5.5.2

Uncertain roles
In the Display Biography, if you do not know the specific role or roles, use the general "artist."

Example
Display Biography: German artist, ca.1488-after 1535
Role:
artist (preferred)

If you do not even know if the person was an artist or not, place the record in "temp.parent/persons not artists," which contains records for unknown persons who possibly are not artists.
In rare cases, authoritative sources may express uncertainty over the possible role. In such cases, the uncertainty may be expressed in the Display Biography, and the possible role should be indexed in the Role field. (As usual, if the uncertainty arises merely from your lack knowledge, do not use "possibly" or otherwise make mention of the suspected role.)

3.6.5.5.3

Multiple roles
If the person had two or three major life roles, include them in the Display Biography. More than three roles may be indexed in the Role field.

Example

3.6.5.5.4

Preferred and other roles
In the Role field, to choose the preferred Role, follow the guidelines below. In most cases, where a general term is applicable, the preferred role will be the general role. Flag the preferred Role. See Preferred Flag below.

Individual artists
In the Role field, if the person produced multiple types of art, use the general term artist for the preferred Role. Note that most artists work in multiple media; for example, painters are usually draftsmen too. Therefore, for creators of fine art, assume the preferred role should be artist, unless authoritative sources state facts to the contrary. For non-preferred roles, list more specific roles, as warranted by authoritative sources.

Example
Display biography: German miniaturist and landscapist, active 17th century
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
miniaturist
landscapist

Exception: If the person was an architect and produced no other type of art, for preferred role use the term architect.
Do not use the term artist for people who manufacture items but who are not artists per se (artists are creators of fine art of the caliber collected by art museums). Do searches in ULAN to find similar situations as examples and consult with your supervisor.

Craftsmen
If the person created multiple types of works that are considered crafts and not fine art, make the preferred role craftsman in the Role field.

Example
Display biography: Polish ébéniste and lacquerer, active late 18th century
Roles:
craftsman (preferred)
ébéniste
lacquerer(s)

Architectural firms
For the preferred Role for an architectural firm, use architectural firm, which is typically a term that is general enough to characterize their primary activities, function, and characteristics.

Example
Display biography: Canadian architectural and urban planning firm, active from 1975
Role:
architectural firm (preferred)
urban planning firm

Studios and manufactories
Use manufactory as the preferred Role for groups active in the 17th century or later that made fine art, furniture, tapestries, ceramics, and other decorative objects, as contrasted to workers active in modern industrial complexes, or "factories (structures)," where objects other than art are produced.

Example
Display biography: French tapestry manufactory, active from 1662 to the present
Role:
manufactory (preferred)
tapissiers
craftsmen

Use studio for groups comprising a master artist or architect and his or her assistants, working in the 17th century or later. For a specialized studio (e.g., photography studio), use the more specific term, such as photography studio (unless the studio produced works other than photographs, when you should use the more general term studio).

Example
Display biography: English photography studio and publisher, active 1854-ca. 1900
Roles:
photography studio (preferred)
publisher

For groups of artists or craftsmen collaborating to produce works prior to the 17th century, usually under a master's name, use workshop.
Note that phrases containing the words workshop or studio that are used to describe unidentified hands working in a workshop are not within the scope of ULAN (e.g., workshop of Raphael).

Families
For families of artists, generally use artists as the preferred Role. Include family as an alternate Role.

Example
[for the Boyd family]
Display biography: Australian painters and ceramicists, active 19th-20th centuries
Roles:
artists (preferred)
painters
ceramicists
family

Other persons or corporate bodies
For other persons or corporate bodies who are artists or craftsmen, be consistent: Do searches in ULAN to find similar situations to use as examples.

Examples
[for Louis Cartier]
Display biography: French jeweler, 1875-1942
Roles:
jeweler (preferred)

[for John Abel, master carpenter]
Display biography: British master carpenter, ca.1578-1675
Roles:
carpenter (preferred)
master

Non-artists
For persons or corporate bodies who are not artists, choose a role representing their primary professional role. If the preferred role does not describe how the person or corporate body is related to the arts, include an alternate role describing their relationship to the arts (e.g., patron). Do searches in ULAN to find similar situations to use as examples.

Examples
[for the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC]
Display biography: American art museum, established in 1937
Role: art museum (preferred)

[for Hugh Capet, King of France]
Display biography: French king and patron, ca. 938-996
Roles: king (preferred)
patron

[for Giovanni Poleni]
Display biography: Italian scientist and archaeologist, 1683-1761
Roles: scientist (preferred)
archaeologist(s)

3.6.5.5.5

Additional Roles
After adding the preferred Role, add additional Roles as time and editorial priorities allow.

Be sure that all roles referred to in the Display Biography are indexed in the Role field.
Add additional Roles that describe the most important additional activities of the person or function of the corporate body. Include roles describing more specifically the type of art produced by the artist. Do not include Roles that describe minor activities or functions.

Order of the Roles
Organize the Roles most logically. The order generally represents order of importance, with the preferred Role first. In the example above, it is generally more important to researchers to know the types of works he produced (implied in painter and portraitist) than to know he worked at court. When a chronological sequence can be applied (as when a duke becomes a king), list the pertinent roles in reverse chronological order (i.e., with king, the higher title, above duke). Number the Roles as instructed in this section and in Sequence Number below.

3.6.5.5.6

Adding new Roles
Most necessary terms for Roles should already be in the Role list. If you feel you need to add a new Role to the Role list, try looking for a synonym. If you still feel you must add one, consult with your supervisor. Roles should be derived from AAT.

3.6.6

Preferred Flag (required-default)

3.6.6.1

Definition
Flag indicating whether or not the Role is the preferred Role for its subject record.

3.6.6.2

Values
The flags are controlled by a pick list in VCS: P - Preferred, V - Variant

3.6.6.3

Sources
For a discussion of how to determine which role should be the preferred role, see Role above.

3.6.6.4

Discussion
Every record must have a preferred Role to use as a default in displays. For further discussion of preferred Roles, see Role above.

3.6.6.5

RULES

The Role in sequence number one is automatically flagged "preferred" by the system. If this is not correct, change the Preferred Flag and sequence numbers accordingly.

3.6.7

Sequence Number (required-default)

3.6.7.1

Definition
The Display Order number (or Sort Order number), indicating the sequence of the Role in relation to the other Roles of a subject record.

3.6.7.2

Values
System generated, but the numbers may be changed by the editor. Values begin with 1 and are numbered sequentially; there is no upper limit imposed by the system.

3.6.7.3

Discussion
Most records have one to five Roles. It would be highly unusual to require more than ten Roles for a person or more than four roles for a corporate body. If you feel you need to add more than that, consult with your supervisor.

3.6.7.4

RULES

Number the Roles in sequence. Do not skip numbers.
The Role in sequence number 1 must be the Preferred Role.
Arrange the Roles in order of importance from a researcher's point of view, or from general to specific (e.g., in the example below, all roles containing "painter" are together, with the general painter above animal painter). See also the discussion under Additional Roles above. If chronology is an issue, place Current Roles before Historical ones.

3.6.8

Historical Flag (required-default)

3.6.8.1

Definition
Flag indicating the historical status of the Role. Most roles in ULAN are set to Not Applicable.

3.6.8.2

Values
Values are derived from a controlled list: B - Both, C - Current, H - Historical, NA ? Not Applicable, U - Unknown.

3.6.8.3

Sources
If there is a question about whether or not a role is current, use standard authoritative sources and consult with your supervisor as necessary.

3.6.8.4

RULES

Not Applicable: The default flag is Not Applicable. This is used for most roles in ULAN.
Current: In the rare event that historical roles are applicable, use the Current flag for a current role. Consult with your supervisor before using this flag.
Historical: In the rare event that historical roles are applicable, use the Historical flag for a historical role. Consult with your supervisor before using this flag.
Both: It is highly unlikely that you will have a role that is both current and historical. If you feel you have an example of this, consult with your supervisor.
Unknown: This is used primarily for data loaded from contributors. Editors should avoid using it if possible. If the Role of an entity is unknown, the person or corporate body record should not be published; move it to a temp.parent.

3.6.9

Dates for Roles

3.6.9.1

Definition
Dates delimiting the period when the Role is or was relevant.

3.6.9.2

Fields

1. Display Date: A free-text field to express nuances of the date to the user; it is indexed by the two indexing fields representing the Start and End Dates implied in the free-text date.
2. Start Date: The exact or estimated earliest year implied in the Display Date.
3. End Date: The exact of estimated latest year implied in the Display Date.

3.6.9.3

Values
Display Date is a free-text field in Unicode. In legacy data, values may be any ASCII character diacritics expressed according to the codes in Appendix A.

Start Date and End Date must contain valid years expressed as numbers, with negative numbers for dates BCE; validated by VCS.

3.6.9.4

Sources
The dates should be determined using the same standard reference sources that supply other information about the Role.

3.6.9.5

Discussion
The Display Date for the Role usually refers to a date range, however, it may sometimes contain notes that do not explicitly make reference to a date. In such cases, the note should implicitly refer to a date or datable condition or event, because you are required to include a Start Date and End Date with every Display Date.

Display dates are indexed with Start Date and End Date. Start and End Dates are controlled by special formatting; dates BCE are represented by negative numbers. If the End Date for a Role is often the death date of the artist, unless it was a role held by him or her for only part of their life.

3.6.9.6

RULES

Dates are not required and are only occasionally warranted.
If you enter data in any of the three date fields, you must enter data in ALL three of the fields.

3.6.9.6.1

Dates appropriate for the given Role
Do not include dates for common roles where the date is self-evident; that is, do not include dates for roles in which the artist is active from early adulthood until death.

Significant dates: Include dates only if the dates are significant: Examples include when a person was active in a particular role (e.g., painter) only during a portion of their life and when the person held an official position (e.g., court painter) for a portion of their life.

Examples
Display biography: French painter, 1683-1757, active in Prussia
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
portraitist
court artist
Display Date: in Prussia, from 1711
Start Date: 1711 End Date: 1757
Display biography: American printmaker, illustrator, and author, 1898-1989, born in England
Roles:
artist (preferred)
printmaker
wood engraver(s)
author
illustrator
painter
designer
Display Date: later in her career she was a designer of Steuben Glass, Wedgewood plates, and several stained glass windows for churches in New England
Start Date: 1951 End Date: 1989

Not for dates of activity or life dates: Do not use the Display Date on Role to record dates of activity or life dates. Do not use it to record the date when a firm was founded. Birth and death dates should be recorded in Birth and Death Date fields (see below). Dates of activity should be recorded if warranted (with Event = active; see 3.7 Events).
Explaining the role: Use the Display Date to explain a Role, as in the first example below for the role designer, where the Display Date explains what the artist designed. Given that Start and End Dates are required if a Display Date is used, estimate appropriate dates for this role.

3.6.9.6.2

Display Date
For the display date, follow the rules below.

State only what is known
If a precise span of dates for a Role is known, state it in the Display Date. Where ambiguity exists, use natural word order to clearly state what is known (and only what is known; do not surmise). Follow the style of existing display dates.

Examples
Display biography: English industrialist and collector, 1811-1885
Roles:
landowner (preferred)
industrialist
collector
Member of Parliament
Display Date: for South Durham, 1832-1847
Start Date: 1832 End Date: 1847
Display biography: Dutch sculptor, documented in 1620s-1630s
Roles:
artist (preferred)
sculptor
priest
Display Date: by 1629
Start Date: 1625 End Date: 1680

[the dates in parentheses refer to the reign of the emperor, not directly to the artist]
Display biography: Persian painter, active ca. 1600-1610
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
court artist
Display Date: to Mughal emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605-1627)
Start Date: 1605 End Date: 1607

Do not use the death date: In general, do not include the death date as part of the span in the display date. In the example below, for the role court artist, the display date reads from ca. 1739; the death date of the artist is NOT included in the display because it is awkward and confusing (i.e., NOT ca. 1739-1749). However, the death date is used as the End Date, which is used in retrieval.

Example
Display biography: German painter and designer, 1688-1749
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
designer
draftsman
fresco painter
scenographer
court artist
Display Date: court scene painter for Emperor Charles VII, from ca. 1739
Start Date: 1734 End Date: 1749

Exception: Occasionally you may need to list the death date for clarity; if so, generally state what the date means, using "until his death" or another suitable phrase (e.g., from ca. 1630 until his death in 1651).
Exception: The reign of a ruler is a special exception. If you are listing the dates for the reign of a ruler, include the death date as the end of the span in the display date for the role of ruler, because this is the customary way to refer to dates for ruling.
- Example
- Display biography: Roman emperor and patron, 245-316 CE
  Roles: emperor (preferred)
  Display Date: reigned 284-305 CE
  Start Date: 284 End Date: 305
  patron

Be objective
Express all information in a neutral tone. Do not write from a subjective or biased point of view, even if your source expresses a fact in a subjective way. Do not express positively or negatively biased information regarding the artist's style, the proficiency of the artist's work, political situations, people (including aboriginal populations), places, or events. See the discussion of this topic in chapter 3.4 Descriptive Note.
Punctuation
Do not use full sentences; do not end the display date with a period or any other punctuation. If the Display Date could be ambiguous because it contains more than one phrase, separate phrases with a semi-colon for clarity.

Example
Display biography: German painter, designer, and draftsman, documented 1465-1508
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
draftsman
stained glass artist
Display Date: designer of stained glass; none of his works are extant
Start Date: 1478 End Date: 1508
designer
woodcarver
printmaker

Capitalization and abbreviation
Do not capitalize words other than proper nouns or period names. Avoid abbreviations, except for ca. (meaning circa), the numbers in century or dynasty designations (e.g., 17th century), and BCE and CE.

Examples
Display biography: Italian painter, 1657-1745
Roles: artist (preferred)
painter
decorative artist
fresco painter
court artist
Display Date: received a court appointment in 1684 by King John III of Poland; he became imperial court painter ca. 1710
Start Date: 1684 End Date: 1745

Calendar in Display Date
Display Dates should generally be expressed as years in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. If another calendar is cited, also list the years in the Gregorian calendar. In the example below, the French Revolutionary calendar is cited.

Example
Display biography: French painter, 1769-ca. 1805
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
official artist
Display Date: documented from 14 Nivôse I (3 January 1793)
Start Date: 1793 End Date: 1810

Span of years
If a precisely delimited span of dates is applicable, list the beginning year of the span first, followed by the end of the span, with the years separated by a hyphen. Include all digits for both years in a span; for example, with four-digit years, do not abbreviate the second year (e.g., 1921-1924, not 1921-24).
- Caveat: In ULAN it is unusual for such specific dates to be known for a role. Do not state specific dates in the Display Date if there is broadly defined information, ambiguity, or uncertainty. For example, instead of 1500-1599, use 16th century if that is what is meant (stating exact years in a display field for the end-user would be misleading in this case).

BCE in Display Dates
Use BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Current Era) as necessary. Avoid using BC (Before Christ) or AD (Anno Domini). Dates BCE should be indexed with negative numbers in Start and End Dates (see below).

Example
Display biography: Ancient Egyptian king and patron of the arts, died 1336 BCE
Roles:
king (preferred)
Display Date: reigned 1353-1336 BCE
Start Date: -1353 End Date: -1336
patron

Uncertain dates
If a date is uncertain, use a broad or vague designation (e.g., painted from childhood, in the example below) or words such as ca. and probably.

Examples
Display biography: Italian painter, ca. 1532-1625
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
miniaturist
portraitist
courtier
Display Date: in Madrid she was attendant to the Infanta Isabella and lady-in-waiting to the queen, Elizabeth of Valois
Start Date: 1559 End Date: 1573
Display biography: Canadian sculptor, folk artist; born 1898 or 1900, died 1979
Roles:
artist (preferred)
folk artist
painter
Display Date: painted from childhood
Start Date: 1908 End Date: 1979
worker
sculptor
Display biography: French designer, ornamentist, and engraver, 1640-1711
Roles:
artist (preferred)
designer
ornamentist
printmaker
engraver (printmaker)
court artist
Display Date: for Louis XIV, from ca. 1667
Start Date: 1665 End Date: 1711

Acceptable scope of information in the Display Date
Ideally, the display date should refer, explicitly or implicitly, to a time period or date associated with the Role. In some cases, Display Date may be used to record unusual or important information about the Role and the artist (see the example below), but not referring explicitly to a date. However, dates should be implicit in the condition or event mentioned and you should have a period or date in mind, because - if you record a Display Date - Start and End Dates are required.

Example
Display biography: American painter, 1810-1900
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
itinerant artist
farmer
Display Date: he was a farmer, turned itinerant painter
Start Date: 1810 End Date: 1900

3.6.9.6.3

Start Date and End Date

Delimiting the span
Record years that delimit the span of time when the Role is applicable, as referenced in the Display Date. If the years are uncertain (as when qualifiers such as ca. or probably were used in the Role display date), approximate years should be calculated and then recorded as Start and End Dates for indexing. These indexing dates should represent the broadest possible span of time represented by the dates in the Role display date; it is better to delimit the span too broadly than too narrowly.
- Start Date must represent a year earlier than the End Date. In rare cases, the start date and end date may be the same year (but if a Role was only applicable for one year, it is probably not significant enough to include).

Example
Display biography: Dutch painter, curator, and collector, 1744-1831
Roles:
artist (preferred)
draftsman
painter
landscapist
still life painter
watercolorist
portraitist
curator
Display Date: in Haarlem ca. 1785-1819, curator of the art collections of the Teylers Foundation, the earliest Dutch public museum for the arts and sciences
Start Date: 1780 End Date: 1819

Do not use punctuation
Express years without commas or other punctuation. An exception is the hyphen, which is used to express negative numbers (dates BCE).
Gregorian calendar
Dates must be expressed in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, which is the Gregorian calendar projected back in time before it came into existence.
Lifelong Roles
For a Role that describes a role or characteristic that lasted until the end of the artist's life, use the Death Date as the End Date (but generally do not state the death date in the Display Date for the Role; see discussion above).

Example
Display biography: Canadian painter and sculptor, folk artist; 1906-1989
Roles:
artist (preferred)
folk artist
painter
Display Date: began painting in 1936
Start Date: 1936 End Date: 1989
sculptor
Display Date: began carving in 1968 or 1969
Start Date: 1968 End Date: 1989
sailor

Month and day
Even if a specific month and day are referenced in the Display Date, index with the years only in Start and End Dates. For the display date, the preferred syntax is day, month, year with no punctuation. The alternative syntax - month, day, comma, year - is found in many legacy records. Do not bother editing records that already contain this syntax, except in order to make the record consistent when you are editing the record.

Example
Display biography: Italian patron and pope, ca. 1210-1280
Roles:
patron (preferred)
pope
Display Date: elected 25 November 1277
Start Date: 1277 End Date: 1280
cardinal

Dates BCE
Express dates BCE by negative numbers, using a hyphen before the number in the Start and End Date. Do not use commas or any other punctuation.
Estimating Start and End Dates
Use available information to estimate Start and End Dates. In many cases, the years will be approximate. When in doubt, it is better to estimate too broad a span rather than too narrow a span. See the Date Authority in Appendix B for approximate dates of historic events and entities; you should also consult other records in ULAN with similar Roles to establish dates.
- If a display date is qualified by ca., early in a century, probably, around, etc., estimate Start and End Dates accordingly. In the example below, the Start and End Dates are educated guesses based on available information. In the example below, ten years were subtracted from "ca. 1610" and ten years were added to "ca. 1620" for Start and End Dates.

Example
Display biography: Spanish painter, 1568-1635
Roles:
artist (preferred)
painter
printmaker
Display Date: worked briefly as a printmaker, ca. 1610-ca. 1620
Start Date: 1600 End Date: 1630

3.6.10

Birth and Death Dates (required)

3.6.10.1

Definition

Birth Date: Date when the artist was born or the corporate body was founded. The birth date is referred to in the Display Biography, and indexed in the Birth Date field, which is used for retrieval but not displayed to the end-user.
Death Date: Date when the artist died or the corporate body disbanded. The death date is referred to in the Display Biography, and indexed in the Death Date field, which is used for retrieval but not displayed to the end-user.

3.6.10.2

Values
The Birth Date and Death Date fields must contain valid years, validated by VCS. The dates in the Display Biography may express nuance and uncertainty.

3.6.10.3

Sources
Use the same standard general references that are appropriate for the rest of the record.

Know your sources: When sources disagree, prefer the information in the most current authoritative source. Scholarly opinions about the artist's life dates may change with new research.
Exhibitions and inventories: For an artist with unknown birth and death dates, and when the only source is an exhibition, dated inventory, or a periodical article, do not assume that the date of the exhibition, publication, or inventory reflects the time when the artist was alive. For example, if an artist's work is listed in an inventory of 1676, do not assume that she/he is a 17th-century artist; she/he could easily have lived and produced the work in an earlier century.

3.6.10.4

Discussion
The Birth and Death Dates are the life dates for the person or dates of existence of a corporate body. The end-users do not see Birth Date and Death Date fields (birth and death date are for use "behind the scenes" for retrieval). For end-users, the birth and death dates are expressed in the Display Biography, along with any expressions of nuance, uncertainty (e.g., ca.), and ambiguity, and when only dates of activity are known.

Example

3.6.10.5

RULES for Birth and Death Date

3.6.10.5.1

Minimum requirements
Record life dates in the Display Biography in an unambiguous way. The dates in the Display Biography are assumed to be birth and death dates, unless otherwise clarified (e.g., clarified with ca., active, etc.).

For Birth and Death Dates fields, record the year when the person was born (or when a corporate body came into existence) and the year when the person died (or when the corporate body was dissolved). If the information is uncertain, estimate dates appropriately.

Syntax
In the Display Biography, place the dates after the nationality and role.
For a span of dates, list birth date, hyphen, death date.
- In the Display Biography, include all digits for both years in a span (e.g., 1831-1890, not 1831-90). Do not use an apostrophe (e.g., 1350s or 1900s, not 1350's or 1900's).
- In the Display Biography, if ca. applies to both years in a date span, repeat it with the second year for clarity (e.g., ca. 1720-ca. 1785).
- In the Display Biography, do not record the month and day of birth or death. You may record this in the Descriptive Note if the specific day and month is significant. In the Descriptive Note, the preferred syntax would be day, month, year with no punctuation (not month, day, comma, year).
- For the Birth and Death Dates fields, include the year only; do not include month or day. Do not include commas or other punctuation, with the exception of the hyphen/dash for dates BCE.

Gregorian Calendar
For the Display Date, list years in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar produced by extending the Gregorian calendar to dates preceding its official introduction. If another calendar is referenced, also include the date in the Gregorian calendar. Use BCE (Before Current Era) and CE (Current Era) if the year alone would be confusing or ambiguous to the end-user. Do not use BC and AD.
- For Birth and Death Dates fields, record the year of birth and death using the proleptic Gregorian calendar. For dates BCE, use negative numbers.

Examples
Display Biography: Roman emperor and patron, 63 BCE-14 CE
Birth Date: -63 Death Date: 14
Display Biography: Persian weaver, died 946 anno Hegirae (1540 CE)
Birth Date: 1440 Death Date: 1540

[based on available information, the active date is referred to in the Display Biography; however, the year of birth is estimated for the Birth Date field]
Display Biography: Sienese painter, active by 1353, died 1410 (1409 Sienese calendar)
Birth Date: 1325 Death Date: 1410

3.6.10.5.2

Dates of activity and other dates
In the display biography, if you do not have birth and death dates, you may use dates of activity or other dates as described below.

In such cases, it is still required to estimate approximate Birth and Death Dates. You may then index the known dates of activity or other dates using the Dates for Events (e.g., baptism, see 3.7) or for Roles (e.g., master, see Roles above).

Dates of activity
If life dates are unknown, in the Display Biography, use active to designate the dates of activity. However, you must estimate Birth and Death Dates for indexing. Allow a lifespan of 100 or 120 years, unless there is better information available.

Examples
Display Biography: Persian weaver, active mid-18th century
Birth Date: 1700 Death Date: 1799
Display Biography: Canadian architect, active from 1942
Birth Date: 1900 Death Date: 2042

"Documented" dates
In some cases, the source indicates only that the artist was documented at a particular time. Use the word "documented" in such cases. For the Birth and Death Date fields, allow a lifespan of 100 or 120 years, unless there is better information available.

Examples
Display Biography: French engraver and medalist, documented 1545-1557
Birth Date: 1515 Death Date: 1615
Display Biography: Flemish painter, documented 1627, active in Spain
Birth Date: 1597 Death Date: 1697

Other dates
In the Display Biography, if the dates do not actually represent birth and death dates, be careful to express precisely what the dates mean. In the example below, the architect, François Mansart, was baptized in January 1598, although no documentation of his actual birth date is known (you can estimate that he may have been born late in 1597 or in January 1598). In such cases, estimate appropriate Birth and Death Dates for indexing.

Examples
Display Biography: French architect, baptized 1598, died 1666
Birth Date: 1597 Death Date: 1666
Display Biography: Persian king and patron, reigned 522-486 BCE
Birth Date: -550 Death Date: -486
Display Biography: German painter, master in 1315, died 1344
Birth Date: 1270 Death Date: 1344

Corporate bodies: Clearly indicate what the dates for corporate bodies mean.

Example
Display Biography: British architectural firm, founded 1768, dissolved 1833

3.6.10.5.3

Uncertainty and ambiguity in Dates
If necessary, express nuance, uncertainty, and ambiguity related to birth and death dates in the Display Biography.

For the Birth and Death Dates fields, estimate years of birth and death as necessary. If only dates of activity are known, or if the dates of birth or death are expressed with ca. or probably in the Display Date, record Birth and Death Dates that are the earliest and latest possible delimiters of the lifespan of a person or of the existence of a corporate body. (Estimations are appropriate because these dates are controlled for search-and-retrieval, and will not be displayed to the end-user.)

Only one date is known
If only the birth date or death date is known, or for living artists for whom death date is not applicable, clearly indicate the meaning of the single known date by using born or died. For extant corporate bodies, use founded, established, or another appropriate term.
- For Birth and Death Date fields, if no better information is available, estimate the greatest likely life span as at least 100 or 120 years for the life of a person.

Examples
Display Biography: Japanese architect, born 1963
Birth Date: 1963 Death Date: 2063
Display Biography: Nigerian sculptor, died 1978
Birth Date: 1878 Death Date: 1978

For extant corporate bodies, use a "death" date of 9999.

Example
Display Biography: American art museum, established in 1937
Birth Date: 1937 Death Date: 9999

Circa, probably
In the Display Biography, for approximate dates use ca. (circa) and probably as needed. If ca. or probably applies to both dates, repeat it for both dates in the span. (Remember: you are expressing uncertainty as relayed by your authoritative sources, not your own surmising; do not use ca. or probably simply because you, the editor, are ignorant of the facts.)
- Based on the Display Biography, estimate Birth and Death dates by adding or subtracting ten years (or more or fewer years, as appropriate, based on your source). (E.g., if the display biography states the birth date as ca. 1230, in the Birth Date field, the date for retrieval could be estimated by subtracting ten years, 1220.)

Examples
Display Biography: Italian sculptor, ca. 1230-ca. 1275
Birth Date: 1220 Death Date: 1285
Display Biography: French engraver, ca. 1653-1684
Birth Date: 1643 Death Date: 1684

Before, after
Use before and after as necessary in the Display Biography. Use the terminus ante quem and the terminus post quem (meaning date before which and date after which), referenced by before and after in the Display Biography as the Birth or Death Date, as appropriate. In the example below, the painter was dead before 1413, so using 1413 as a Death Date is appropriate for retrieval.

Example
Display Biography: Italian painter, ca. 1360-before 1413
Birth Date: 1355 Death Date: 1413

Contemporary, living persons
In the Display Biography, for individuals or corporate bodies that are definitely or probably still alive or extant, but the birth date or date of founding is unknown, use contemporary rather than 20th century or 21st century.
- Persons: For the Birth and Death Dates fields only (not Display Biography), for a presumably living artist for whom a birth date is unknown, estimate a birth date if possible (e.g., using works produced early in their career or a date when they were in school). If nothing is known from which a birth date may be estimated, use the birth date 1900 for a living person. If the birth date is completely unknown (and thus a 120-year life span cannot be calculated), record the Death Date as 2090.
- Corporate Bodies: If no information is available, consult with your supervisor regarding an appropriate "birth" date for a corporate body. For extant corporate bodies, use the death date 9999.

Examples
Display Biography: Canadian architect, contemporary
Birth Date: 1900 Death Date: 2090
Display Biography: British museum, contemporary
Birth Date: 1800 Death Date: 9999

Spans of dates
For the Display Biography, if a birth date or death date itself is represented by a span, for example, if an artist was born between 1300 and 1310, use a forward slash to indicate this span (e.g., 1300/1310-1362). Estimate Birth and Death Dates appropriately.

Example
Display Biography: Florentine architect, 1300/1310-1362
Birth Date: 1300 Death Date: 1362

Or: If a birth or death date is one year or another, and the years are successive years, treat the date as a span (e.g., 1813/1814-1876). If a birth or death date is one year or another, and the dates are NOT two successive years, use the word or and born and died in the Display Biography for clarity.

Example
Display Biography: Russian miniaturist, born 1813 or 1817, died 1876
Birth Date: 1813 Death Date: 1876

Centuries
For the Display Biography, if the exact dates are not known and your authoritative source describes the life dates or active dates in terms of a century, you may use the following convention in the Display Biography: Use the numeric abbreviation for the ordinal number (e.g., 17th), spell out century or centuries, hyphenate mid-, and otherwise express such dates using the syntax in the examples below. Portions of centuries may be referenced.
- Estimate appropriate Birth and Death Dates. For the Birth and Death dates, use 00 and 99 to delimit a century, (e.g., for life dates 17th century, Birth Date = 1600, Death Date = 1699). Use 00 and 30 for early in the century, 30 and 70 for mid-, and 70 and 99 for late. Allow a lifespan of 100 or 120 years, unless there is better information available.

Examples
Display Biography: Dutch printmaker, 17th century
Birth Date: 1600 Death Date: 1699
Display Biography: Irish painter, late 18th to mid-19th centuries
Birth Date: 1770 Death Date: 1870

If the century in the Display Biography refers to dates of activity rather than life dates, estimate life dates accordingly, assuming the person was born 20 or more years before they were active and died somewhat after the last recorded date of activity. Create a lifespan of 100 or 120 years, unless there is better information available.

Examples
Display Biography: German artist, active mid-16th century
Birth Date: 1500 Death Date: 1599
Display Biography: Indian sculptor, active late 19th century
Birth Date: 1830 Death Date: 1930
Display Biography: Japanese draftsman, active early 18th century
Birth Date: 1670 Death Date: 1770

Dynasties, periods
In the Display Biography, when the exact date is unknown, you may occasionally express dates for the artist according to a named period, dynasty, or ruler's reign, if this is the only date referred to in your source. The periods and dynasties may be divided into early, middle, or late.
- If the dates refer to the dynasty or ruler and not to the artist, put the dates in parentheses. Caveat: If you do not put the dates in parentheses, it means that the dates refer to the life dates of the artist. For example, Chinese painter and scholar, Ming dynasty, 1470-1524, would indicate that the dates are the birth and death dates of the artist, not of the Ming Dynasty. In the example below, the dates represent those of the dynasty.

Examples
Display Biography: Chinese painter and scholar, late Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Birth Date: 1570 Death Date: 1670
Display Biography: flourished during the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-1657)
Birth Date: 1600 Death Date: 1700

If no more specific dates for the artist are known, Birth and Death Dates for retrieval should be estimated by considering the dates applicable for that period or dynasty. Allow a lifespan of 100 or 120 years, unless there is better information available.

3.6.10.5.4

Estimating Birth and Death Dates
In the Display Biography, state only what is known. However, in the Birth and Death Dates, you may estimate dates based on very little information when necessary.

Consult the rules for Birth and Death Dates above. If none of those situations is applicable to your situation, and lacking all other information, you may estimate Birth and Death Dates based on the dates of works by the artist or the dates of other people who lived when he or she did (e.g., patrons, students, etc.).
For the date of establishment (Birth Date) or dissolution (Death Date) of a corporate body, you may extrapolate from various related information as appropriate. For example, if you do not know the date of dissolution of an architectural firm, you could use the death dates of the partners to estimate a terminus ante quem for the firm.
If you do not know the date of establishment of a workshop, you could estimate that it must be a date after the birth of the master, and before the date of the first work produced by the shop.

No Date
In the Display Biography, do not record no date or n.d. If you have so little information about the person or corporate body that you cannot record even the century during which they lived, consult with your supervisor; you will most likely place the record under a temp.parent.

3.6.11

Birth and Death Places

3.6.11.1

Definition
The geographic locations where the artist was born or died.

3.6.11.2

Values
Terminology for the place is drawn from a controlled Place List comprising a numeric code and a word or phrase.

3.6.11.3

RULES

3.6.11.3.1

Minimum requirements
If known from an authoritative source, record the place names indicating where a person was born or died.

Example

Locus of activity or location: For the locus of activity for a person, see 3.7 Events. It is recorded as Event = active. For the location of a corporate body, see 3.7 Events. It is recorded as Event = location.

3.6.11.3.2

Uncertain birth or death place
If sources disagree about the birth or death place, prefer the most recent authoritative source. If you cannot resolve the question regarding birth or death place, omit the place.

If authoritative sources talk of scholarly debate over a possible birth or death place, note both places in the Descriptive Note and index the most likely place as the Birth or Death Place.

Nation names
If you do not know the city or province of birth or death, and you only know the nation, do not record the nation if the nation is the same as is referred to in the Nationality. For example, do not record Italy as the birthplace of an Italian artist; however, you may record a specific city such as Florence (Firenze province, Tuscany, Italy) as the Birth Location.
- Exception: If the artist was born or died in one nation but was a citizen of or worked in another nation, and if you do not know his city of birth or death, you may record the nation in Birth or Death Place.

Example
Display biography: British architect, 1911-1979, born in India
Birth Place: India
Nationality: British

3.6.11.3.3

Historical names
If the artist was born or died in a place for which the name has since changed, you will have to index the Birth or Death Place with the modern place name rather than the historical name, because the historical place names for cities are not in the Place List. To explain such discrepancies, use the Descriptive Note.

Example
Birth Place: Labdah (Al Khums province, Libya)
Descriptive Note: The emperor was also the patron of many building projects in his native city of Leptis Magna (modern Labdah, Libya).

Exception: Note that the names of historical nations are generally in the Place List. Link to the historical name when possible.

3.6.11.3.4

Adding new Places to the Place List
Most necessary names for Birth and Death Places should already be in the Place list. If you feel you need to add a new Place to the Place list, try looking for a synonym. Check TGN for potential synonyms. If you still feel you must add to the ULAN Place List, consult with your supervisor and be sure you are trained to properly add a place before doing so. Place names must be derived from TGN, because the list is periodically updated from the TGN data; if the place is not in TGN either, add it.

Caveat: Note that there are many homographs in the Place List. In some cases, a city and its province may even have the same name. Be absolutely certain that you link to the correct place.

3.6.12

Sex (required)

3.6.12.1

Definition
An indication of the sex of the artist. This field is called "Gender" in the online publication.

3.6.12.2

Values
The flags are controlled by a pick list in VCS: M - Male, F - Female, O - Other, U - Unknown, NA - Not Applicable

3.6.12.3

RULES

Record the sex of the individual: male, female, other, unknown. For corporate bodies, record not applicable, except in cases where the body prefers to be identified by gender, such as the Guerrilla Girls (a group of female American artists for whom gender identification is important).
For any anonymous artists or in all cases wherre the sex is not documented in an authoritative source, record unknown.
Indicate sex as other for transgender or non-binary people, or when applicable and documented, the sex/gender by which they self-identify (male, female). In Nationality field (short for nationality / culture / race / ethnicity / religion / gender identity / sexual orientation), you may record transgender or gender non-binary or another approriate term, but only when the person is authoritatively documented as so self-identifying and the person wishes the information to be known.

Do not attribute sex designation based on the name of the individual. For example, names such as Robin, Hilary, Nicola, Jean, and Evelyn may be male or female, or the person may not identify with the gender identity suggested by the name.

For records with multiple display biographies, if possible make sure that the sex is the same for all of the biographies. Alternatively, you may delete all Sex designations except the one for the Preferred Display Biography. To delete the Sex designation, click on the empty value in the pull-down list of Sex designations.

Examples
[for Artemesia Gentileschi, Sex is the same for all biographies]

[for Andrea de'Bartoli, Sex is deleted for all but the preferred biography]

3.6.13

Preferred Flag for Biography (required-default)

3.6.13.1

Definition
Flag indicating whether or not the Display Biography is preferred for its subject record.

3.6.13.2

Values
The flags are controlled by a pick list in VCS: P - Preferred, N - Non-Preferred

3.6.13.3

Discussion
Every record must have a preferred Display Biography to use as a default in displays.

3.6.13.4

RULES

The Display Biography is automatically flagged "preferred" by the system. If this is not correct, change the Preferred Flag accordingly. If necessary, create a new Display Biography and flag it "preferred."

3.6.14

Contributor for Biography (required)

3.6.14.1

Definition
A reference to the institution or project that contributed the biography.

3.6.14.2

Fields

Brief Name: An acronym, initials, or abbreviated name of the institution.
Full Name: A full version of the name of the contributing institution or project.

3.6.14.3

RULES

The contributor name is usually assigned to the records when they are loaded; thus the editor rarely needs worry about it.
For Biographies entered by the Vocabulary Program, list the contributor as "VP"
Full Name: If you must create a new entry in the Contributor file, for the Full Name, record the official name of the institution, as communicated by their representative or as found on recent official publications, including their Web site or a handbook of the collection.
Brief Name: If you must create a new entry in the Contributor file, for the Brief Name, use the official acronym or abbreviation of the institution. If there is no official brief name, construct a brief name and okay it with your supervisor.

¹"Required-default" indicates that a default is automatically set, but should be changed by the cataloguer as necessary.

Last updated 2 February 2023
Document is subject to frequent revisions

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