Tag Archives: provenance

The Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art: The Next 25 Years

Posted on: January 14, 2024 by Matthias Weller

A number of events and presentations marked the 25th anniversary of the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art. Among these were “Marking 25 Years of the Washington Principles – Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art“ at the Leo Baeck Institute for the Study of German-Jewish History and Culture at New York on 3 December 2023, but also, for […]

The Cost of Our Appetite for Gold

Posted on: December 11, 2023 by Emefa Cole

The Allure of Gold Gold is undoubtably the most seductive of the noble metals. It is revered, considered sacred and mystical in many cultures. It is associated with the supernatural, royalty, wealth and prestige – we hear of alchemists of yesteryear turning lead into gold and stories of mythical creatures who inhabit mines around the […]

Australia Investigates Allegations of Painting by Non-Indigenous Studio Staff

Posted on: May 19, 2023 by Elizabeth Pearson

Australia’s National Gallery and three governments have launched separate inquiries into allegations reported by a national newspaper that non-Indigenous studio staff painted on First Nations artists’ works, including art due to be exhibited in the country’s capital in June. The Australian published allegations on 7 April 2023 that non-Indigenous staff at Tjala Arts Centre, a […]

Spoliation Advisory Panel Recommends Return of Courbet Painting to Original Owners

Posted on: May 5, 2023 by Lilian Palmer

The UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel, which handles claims relating to lost possession of cultural property during the Nazi era, has not published a new report in seven years. As such, their most recent recommendation, published on 28 March 2023, is particularly worthy of note. The Panel has recommended that a landscape painting by leading French […]

Gurlitt trove eludes restitution efforts owing to unresolved provenance questions

Posted on: July 1, 2020 by Stephanie Drawdy

The full story of the billion-dollar art collection gathered by Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt during World War II may never be told. After years spent trying to determine the collection’s history, the prior owners of a large majority of those works remain unknown. This is a story we have followed with interest throughout its […]

Recent report on the illicit antiquities trade receives mixed response

Posted on: June 10, 2020 by Charlotte Dunn

A UNESCO-backed research project into the illicit trade in cultural property in Germany has recently released its final report. The ‘ILLICID Project’, launched by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aimed to increase understanding of illicit trafficking networks and financial flows linked to organised crime and terrorism. However, the findings of the final […]

New issue of Art Antiquity & Law available now

Posted on: January 16, 2020 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

As we leave behind the festive season, the latest issue of Art Antiquity & Law has just been released in time for you to start the new year with the latest in-depth analyses from the world of art and cultural heritage law. Adam Jomeen writes about street photography and compares the legal treatments afforded to […]

By description? Canadian judgment complicates art contracts

Posted on: December 2, 2019 by Charlotte Dunn

Legal cases involving questions of authenticity, attribution and provenance are generally not easily determined. However, in a recent Canadian case, the Court of Appeal for Ontario applied contract law to tackle (or avoid) the issue. The case involved a painting, entitled Spirit Energy of Mother Earth, purportedly by the renowned First Nations artist, Norval Morrisseau. […]

Japanese Museum claims title to the Reynolds painting stolen in UK

Posted on: October 1, 2019 by Makoto Shimada

According to recent articles in the Antiques Trade Gazette, Art Newspaper and several other English papers, a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds stolen in the UK has ended up in Japan at the collection of the Fuji Tokyo Art Museum (“the Museum”). The Museum claims that it purchased the work with valid title. Facts In […]

New York Appellate Court Upholds Purpose of HEAR Act: Austrian Performer’s Heirs Found to Have Superior Right to Looted Schiele Works

Posted on: August 23, 2019 by Stephanie Drawdy

Fritz Grünbaum was a clear target for the Nazis. He was a Jewish law school graduate and decorated World War I veteran turned pacifist and an outspoken man of the arts with a platform as a Viennese cabaret performer. On the day Hitler invaded Vienna, he entertained nightclub guests as he groped onto a darkened […]