During the Second World War, the Nazis proactively and systematically confiscated hundreds of thousands (some estimates say 600,000) of works of art in Europe.  These objects were stolen, or in some cases the owners were forced to sell them at a low price, by agents of the Third Reich from the time they gained power in 1933 to the end of the war in 1945.  After the war, the allied forces, through the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Commission of the U.S. Army, with the help of U.S. museums and scholars, made great efforts to return these stolen and displaced objects to their countries of origin.  Many eventually were restituted to their original owners.  Even so, whether through auctions, dealers, or as gifts and bequests, it is likely that many American museums unknowingly acquired works that had previously been confiscated by the Nazis, and for which proper restitution had not been made to the object’s original owner or heir.  It is estimated that approximately 100,000 works of art remain unaccounted for; some undoubtedly have been destroyed. 

Today there is an increased awareness of the issues surrounding works of art that were stolen, looted, or that otherwise illicitly changed hands in Europe during the Nazi era. Museums are addressing the ethical questions and challenges that may arise regarding the prior ownership of works acquired during these years. Research on provenance (the history of ownership) is an ongoing part of curatorial research at the Allen Memorial Art Museum.  It is our objective to trace the history of an object's ownership from the time it was made until it was acquired by the museum. In certain instances this history is incomplete, and at times the information is inaccurate or withheld. Many documents and inventories that would enable scholars to investigate the past ownership and movement of these works in Europe have only become available in recent years. As a member institution of the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the Allen Memorial Art Museum is committed to examining the provenance of works in its collection to determine whether any may have been subject to theft, looting or improper transactions.  In 1999 the AAM published its “Guidelines Concerning the Unlawful Appropriation of Objects during the Nazi Era”.  In accordance with these and with other procedures established by the AAM, AAMD and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States, the AMAM has created an online Provenance Research database of European paintings.

In the following AMAM Provenance List are European paintings (oil-based media on canvas, wood panel or paper) in the museum's collection that have gaps in their provenance and/or underwent a change of ownership between 1933 and 1945, and that were in continental Europe between those dates. It is important to note that a gap in provenance or change in ownership does not necessarily mean that the work was stolen or seized. In the majority of cases it reflects incomplete or inadequate record keeping by previous owners. Research on the history of ownership is a continuing process. New information about our European paintings will be disclosed as it becomes available. As research occurs, works of art in other media (sculpture, decorative arts and works on paper) will be added to the list.

AMAM Provenance List:
Click here for a list of European paintings with incomplete provenance and/or changes in ownership in Europe for the period 1933-1945.

AMAM Publications:
Catalogue of European and American Paintings and Sculpture in the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, 1967

Catalogue of Drawings and Watercolors in the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, 1976

Masterworks for Learning: A College Collection Catalogue, Allen Memorial Art Museum Oberlin College, 1998

Information or Queries:
We strongly encourage anyone with questions about works in our collection, or who may have additional documentation on our works, to contact us:

Provenance Research Project
Allen Memorial Art Museum
Oberlin College
87 North Main Street
Oberlin, OH  44074

Related Publications:
Robert M. Edsel, Rescuing Da Vinci, Dallas, 2006

Hector Feliciano, The Lost Museum, New York, 1997

Peter Harclerode and Brendan Pittaway, The Lost Masters:  World War II and the Looting of Europe’s Treasurehouses, London, 1999

Michael Kurtz, Nazi Contraband: American Policy on the Return of European Cultural Treasures, 1945-1955, New York, 1985

Lynn H. Nicholas, The Rape of Europa, New York, 1994

Jonathan Petropoulos, Art as Politics in the Third Reich, University of North Carolina Press, 1996

Jonathan Petropoulos, The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany, New York, 2000

Elizabeth Simpson, ed., The Spoils of War: World War II and Its Aftermath. The Loss, Reappearance, and Recovery of Cultural Property, New York, 1997