Conducting research on individual works of art is an important aspect of the work of any museum, and revealing the context in which a work of art was made, collected, exhibited and evaluated from its date of creation onwards remains an ongoing process at the IMA. Provenance research in particular—meaning research on the chain of ownership of works of art—has long been a tool used in authenticating works of art, determining who might have seen or been influenced by specific works of art, and studying the history of taste and collecting. Generally, provenance is investigated when individual works of art are catalogued for exhibition or publication, considered for acquisition, prepared for loan or in response to inquiries.