Provenance Research

Provenance research investigates the ownership of individual works of art. It examines the biography of objects with the primary goal of reconstructing a full chronology of all owners. As a component of scientific inventory, this branch of research is traditionally a part of a museum’s mission. For example, it plays an important role in revising inventory and oeuvre catalogues.

For the past several years, provenance research has increasingly investigated the fate of works of art during the Third Reich. In December 1999, the Federal Government of Germany along with individual German states and three metropolitan umbrella organizations adopted a joint declaration to find and return Nazi-confiscated art, especially from Jewish property. In accordance with the so-called Washington principles from the year before, German collections and their legal representatives are required to examine the exact provenance of their holdings, disclose any illegal origins, and provide restitution.

The Kunstverein in Bremen is one of the first organisations under private law to have shown, from the very outset, a great willingness to adhere to the proposed procedures for achieving just and fair solutions regarding cultural property confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution.