The Complete Works of Fitz Henry Lane
an online catalogue raisonné under the direction of
The Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts

The Fitz Henry Lane Catalogue Raisonné Project at the Cape Ann Museum has worked with Roger Shepherd and panOpticon from the project’s inception over a year ago. Our project’s core need was a flexible, fully searchable database of all of Lane’s work incorporating all the proper catalogue raisonné style protocols. In addition we wanted to be able to include far more historical and reference information than the traditional catalogue raisonne. After looking at numerous cataloging database software solutions, it became clear that the “one size fits all” architecture of commercial database software was going to need extensive adaptation for our needs, far beyond the expertise or budget of our project.
     We were introduced to panOpticon through their Mary Cassatt online catalogue raisonné project that was still in process. It was immediately apparent that they had confronted and solved all the myriad problems associated with style protocols and had created extraordinary keyword search abilities that opened up numerous new avenues for understanding an artist’s work. Perhaps most importantly, the software had a user interface that automatically applied the correct style and punctuation to all entries, allowing us to employ less experienced researchers to input the data.
     Over this first year of the project we have had nothing but positive experiences with Roger and his team. They have been very easy to work with, prompt and responsible in follow through on all issues. The training is straightforward and the software itself can answer most questions itself going forward. Most importantly, they understand the field of art scholarship as only an insider can. I can’t imagine what it would be like to try to explain the nuances of style and organization necessary to a catalogue raisonné to an ordinary software programmer or consultant. The amount of time and effort we have saved in the start-up phase alone is incalculable and the ongoing efficiency of the data input and organization continues to allow us to focus our resources on the core research.

Sam Holdsworth
Project Director
Fitz Henry Lane Catalogue Raisonné Project
Cape Ann Museum