ARTISTIC ARCHIVES – ART CATALOGING RESEARCH BUISSON . ACRB
The cultural association Archives Artistiques, founded in Paris in 1989 by Sylvie Buisson, an expert on the painter Léonard-Tsuguharu Foujita at the French Union of Art Object Experts, changed its name in 2022 to become Art Cataloging Research Buisson, or ACRB.
A cultural association for archiving, documentary research, scientific analysis, and the production of Catalogues Raisonnés editions and exhibitions.
1989
This association continues to archive all necessary documentation to complete the knowledge of Montmartre and Montparnasse artists associated with the School of Paris during the first half of the 20th century, particularly Foujita, and to promote publications, events, and museum exhibitions that enhance their understanding and extend their influence. These are French and foreign artists, living, working, exhibiting, and gaining recognition in Paris in the 20th century; the connections they forged with each other and with local artists made them collaborators and fostered their exchanges in art and in general. Following a thread of research concerning them helps to unveil an entire segment of a particularly rich period in all areas of intellectual and artistic creation.
Japanese artists, particularly Foujita, constitute the main focus of the research project jointly conducted by Sylvie Buisson and Casimir Buisson, experts. They are joined by Arthur Buisson, who manages graphic and documentary archives and digital data, and serves as supervisor and artistic director for the Catalogue Général Raisonné de l’Œuvre de Foujita (Volumes 3, 4, and 5).
The founding members of the Archives Artistiques, which later became ACRB, were part of Foujita’s inner circle: notably Joseph Foret, publisher of “L’Apocalypse” in 1960, and Georges Prade, his friend and godfather to Kimiyo Foujita. Their testimonies and correspondence provided the initial groundwork for Foujita’s biography and, more importantly, allowed for a deeper understanding of the artist’s and the man’s soul through their lived experiences. Subsequently, numerous individuals who frequented Foujita in France, Japan, and around the world joined the association, including researchers, journalists, diplomats, art historians, dealers, gallery owners, auction houses… and members of his family, ultimately Kimiyo Foujita in 1998.
The main goal remains to list, archive, publish, and disseminate the subject of Sylvie and Casimir Buisson’s research and discoveries, and to make them accessible to the widest possible audience through books and exhibitions.
The task of expertise is, of course, to separate the false from the true. To reject counterfeits and remove fakes from commercial circuits.
1983
Foujita
Foujita’s life and work stand at the crossroads of two cultures, East and West. The artist’s independent spirit, at the forefront of trends and ideas, elevated him to the ranks of leading modern Japanese artists in both France and Japan, and among the “Greats” of the School of Paris.
His intimacy with Pablo Picasso, Kees Van Dongen, André Derain, Moïse Kisling, Jules Pascin, Chaïm Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani… and most of the artists of Montmartre and Montparnasse, demonstrates both his qualities as a man and as an innovative artist.
Foujita represents the most evident fusion known to modern art connecting France and Japan.
The FOUJITA Department
Within the ACRB Artistic Archives, this department preserves material collected by Sylvie Buisson for over 40 years to ensure its scientific exploitation, publication, exhibition, and communication. This includes numerous original photographic prints, both silver halide and digital, and objects related to the artist’s life. It also comprises technical sheets and photographs corresponding to works already listed, reproduced, and to be reproduced in the Catalogue Général Raisonné of the artist’s work.
Approximately 7,000 work records (drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, or objects) are thus classified on cardboard cards, in binders, and in digital files. Each authentic work is numbered and documented. At the request of their owner, prints are stamped on the back with the Archives Artistiques, ACRB mark and countersigned by the expert confirming their authenticity.
The association holds the scientific material collected by Sylvie Buisson – namely, samples taken from works and comparative studies constituting a unique database on the material and support of oil paintings, drawings, or prints, thus allowing, in collaboration with analysis laboratories, to determine the quality and authenticity of the works.
Upon request, the association issues a certificate of belonging to the ACRB Artistic Archives, specifying that the work is already included in one or both of the first three volumes of the Catalogue Général Raisonné, or that it will be reproduced in the continuation of this Catalogue, i.e., in Volume 4 (currently being finalized) and Volume 5, which began in 2022. Each certificate is photocopied, classified, and archived by year since 1989.
Casimir Buisson has been collaborating on this classification and research work since 2010.
The future of Foujita's artwork expertise is secured
1983
Since 2010, Sylvie Buisson has been transferring the workings of her archives to her son, Casimir Buisson. Since June 14, 2022, he has been registered with the French Union of Experts, joining his mother Sylvie Buisson in the same specialty.
His training as a painting restorer at Palazzo Spinelli in Florence, Italy, under the direction of highly experienced restorers, notably associated with the Uffizi Museum, allows him a scientific analysis of Foujita’s works, whose techniques are close to those of the Italian Renaissance. This experience acquired in Italy during his training complements his knowledge of Foujita’s life and works, whose expertise he now shares with his mother, also working on the drafting of the Catalogue Général Raisonné of Foujita’s work.
Except in exceptional cases due to absences, Sylvie Buisson continues to issue certificates.
Since May 2025, they have been co-signed by Sylvie and Casimir Buisson.
Expertise Request
To obtain a potential expert opinion on a presumed work by Foujita, its owner must send Sylvie and Casimir Buisson a detailed request – demonstrating the applicant’s identity, ownership, or co-ownership of the work – accompanied, if possible, by HD photographs (front and back), as well as dimensions and provenance.
By SMS: Sylvie Buisson +33 (0) 6 76 35 79 46 / Casimir Buisson +33 (0) 6 59 63 13 28
By email with Wetransfer for large images:
sylv.buisson [@] orange.fr / casimir.buisson [@] yahoo.fr
Or by mail: Sylvie Buisson and Casimir Buisson – ACRB – 4 rue Agar 75016 PARIS – France
A preliminary opinion is communicated to the owner. An appointment may be offered for a specific examination in Paris.