Training - Draft

The Center for Art Collection Ethics (ACE) at the University of Denver (DU) is pleased to announce a hybrid training program on the fundamentals of Nazi-era art provenance research, June 24-28, 2024. Our program is geared toward graduate students in any field and emerging museum and art market professionals, with selected streamed sessions available to the broader public. We will offer an on-campus postgraduate certificate of completion to twenty students through an application process. In addition, non-certificate students and other attendees may register to attend selected sessions virtually. 

Our planning team includes Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance at the Yale University Art Gallery; Elizabeth Campbell, Professor of History at DU and Director of ACE; Renée Stokesbury, Associate Provenance Researcher at the Denver Art Museum. 

Program Summary (FPO)

This Program Includes

  • Interactive lectures and discussions with top historians, provenance researchers, attorneys, museum and art market experts 
  • Workshops on legal and ethical challenges in the stewardship and trade of Nazi-era art 
  • Site visit to the Denver Art Museum, where Renée Stokesbury will present a case study of her research 
  • Information on archival resources in the United States and abroad  
  • Workshops on writing provenance narratives, transparency, and making research public, facilitated by Antonia Bartoli and Renée Stokesbury 
  • For certificate students: small group work on provenance research case studies using digital resources, and presentation of findings through a symposium the final day of the program 
  • Other confirmed speakers include:
    • Jacques Schuhmacher, Senior Provenance Research Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London 
    • Nicholas O’Donnell, Litigation Partner at Sullivan & Worcester LLP 
    • Anna Rubin, Director of the Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York Department of Financial Services 
    • Amelie Ebbinghouse, Director at the Art Loss Register 
    • Descendants of victims of Nazi-era art plunder 

Timeline for Certificate Applications

  • Applications accepted on a rolling basis through 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (UTC-6) on Sunday, March 31, 2024. 
  • Notifications of acceptance in mid-April. Twenty students will be accepted.  
  • Program dates: Arrival on campus and dorm check-in on Sunday afternoon, June 23. All-day program Monday, June 24-Friday, June 28. Dorm check-out Saturday morning, June 29.  
  • Certificate program fee, including lodging and most meals: $750 
  • The program fee includes: 
    • Lodging in an upscale, apartment-style dormitory with single bedrooms 
    • Meals, including welcome reception and final banquet 
    • Transportation locally to museums 
    • Certificate tuition 
  • Students pay for travel costs to and from Denver 

View Application

Qualifications for Certificate Program

  • A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience is required. Applicants are welcome to explain equivalent experience in the application essay.  
  • We welcome applications from graduate students and emerging professionals with various backgrounds, including art history, museum studies, anthropology, cultural studies, history, religious studies, and library and information science.  
  • We encourage participation from minoritized communities and staff at academic museums and galleries, who are poised to help train the rising generation of museum and art market professionals.  

Non-Certificate Registration

Selected sessions will be streamed and available to the public for a modest fee, with recordings available for one year. Stay tuned for updates, in this space and on Instagram and X (Twitter).