IRSA Institute for Art Historical Research was established in 1979, IRSA being the acronym of Istituto per le Ricerche di Storia dell'Arte, as the Institute was initially based in Venice (1979-1982). From there it moved to Florence and Vienna, and finally in 1996 to Cracow (Poland). IRSA has maintained contacts over many years with the Japanese art history milieu, including specialists in Oriental and European Art, and, in cooperatiom with Professor Hidemichi Tanaka, opened a branch at the University of Sendai.

The idea of starting a new art periodical and a research institute as its subsidiary, originated with Dr Józef Grabski at the end of the 1970s. His initiative was carried to fruition by a group of art historians gathered after the International Congress of the History of Art (CIHA) in Bologna in 1979 and IRSA as a research Institute and as a publisher (IRSA Publishing House) came into being. That same year (but dated already 1980) the first issue of Artibus et Historiae, appeared.

Józef Grabski, then a young art historian, student of Professor Jan Białostocki of Warsaw University and then research student at Vienna University and the Fondazione Roberto Longhi in Florence, managed to enlist for the new Institute and its periodical the cooperation of art historians of international repute including André Chastel, Giuliano Briganti, René Huyghe, Carlo del Bravo, Everett Fahy, Hermann Fillitz and Konrad Oberhuber, and from Poland, Professors Adam Labuda, Juliusz Chrościcki and Andrzej Rottermund together with Jan Białostocki.

The Institute of Art Historical Research IRSA together with its publishing house, was founded with its headquarters first in Venice (1972-1982), subsequently in Florence and Vienna, and since 1996, in Cracow, Poland.

Within the framework of the current activities of IRSA, Dr Grabski organizes art exhibitions in different countries of the world. They are accompanied by well-researched and richly illustrated catalogues, published by the IRSA Publishing House.

IRSA Art Consulting is a separate branch of the Institute which gives advice on dealing in Polish and foreign art, both 'old masters' and contemporary artists. Drawing on Dr Grabski's extensive experience in this field, IRSA acts as consultant and helps clients to build up their collections.