Provenance Research
Provenance research tracing the history of an object's ownership has become priority for museums in recent years as the facts surrounding art confiscated during World War II by the Nazi regime have become more widely known. Some unlawfully appropriated art has found its way into the collections of art museums over the years, and the museum community is working diligently to clarify the ownership history of the paintings listed below. Joslyn Art Museum's Board of Governors supports the work of the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) in this important and necessary undertaking.

The paintings listed below were created by European artists prior to 1946. All are undergoing systematic research by the Museum's curatorial staff and outside consultants as time allows to determine their status during the 1933-1945 period of National Socialist rule in Germany. For these particular works, gaps exist in the chain of ownership during those years. This missing documentation does not in itself identify these as looted or improperly acquired artworks, but by exposing them to the widest possible audience of scholars and interested parties we hope to add to the collected knowledge of these paintings and to learn more about their past ownership.

Current List of Artworks



Nazi-era Provenance Internet Portal