Training

Nazi-Era Art Provenance Research

Hybrid Training Program

June 24–28, 2024

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. In its third iteration since 2021, our program is geared toward graduate students and emerging museum and art market professionals. We will offer an on-campus postgraduate certificate of completion to twenty students through an application process. In addition, anyone may register to attend select sessions virtually. Session recordings are available for one year.

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

• Program Summary

  The program includes:

  • Interactive lectures and discussions with field experts including  historians, provenance researchers, attorneys, museum professionals and art market representatives
  • Discussion of the legal and ethical challenges in the stewardship of art lost, looted or displaced during the Nazi-era, and challenges for recovery from the perspective of claimants
  • Site visit to the Denver Art Museum
  • Keynote address by Dr. Evelien Campfens, Lecturer, Cultural Heritage Law and Looted Art and Restitution, University of Amsterdam: "Cross-border Claims to Looted Art: Obstacles and Models"
  • Information on archival and library resources in the United States and abroad 
  • Workshops on writing provenance narratives, transparency, and public engagement
  • Certificate students will be required to participate in small group work on provenance research case studies using digital resources, and a presentation of findings through a symposium on the final day of the program
  • Confirmed speakers include:
    • Anne Dunn-Vaturi, Senior Provenance Researcher, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
    • Amelie Ebbinghaus, Director, Art Loss Register, London
    • Marc Masurovsky, Historian and Co-founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project (HARP)
    • Nicholas O’Donnell, Litigation Partner, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Boston
    • Anna Rubin, Director, Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York Department of Financial Services
    • Carla Shapreau, Curator, Salz Collection of Stringed Instruments; Lecturer, School of Law; and Senior Fellow, Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley
    • Laurel Zuckerman,Claimant in Zuckerman v. Metropolitan Museum of Art, editor Open Art Data
    • Jona Goldschmidt, claimant and grandson of Fritz and Thea Goldschmidt
    • Carrie Gough, President and Founder, Veritas Fine Art Appraisals & Consulting
    • Joanna Gohmann, Provenance Researcher & Object Historian, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
    • Jacques Schuhmacher, Senior Provenance Research Curator, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
• Application Requirements and Timeline

  Application Requirements

  • Completed form [fillable pdf]
  • One letter of recommendation to be sent directly from the referee
  • Transcript(s) of higher education completed thus far, or an essay explaining equivalent experience

  Send materials in a single pdf to ahss.ace@du.edu, with “application” in the subject line.

  Application Timeline

  • 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
• 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, but not limited to 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. 
• Schedule and Online (Non-Certificate) Attendance

  For seamless and secure program delivery, we are using the OpenWater virtual conferencing platform. 

  Anyone may register to attend hybrid sessions online, as a “non-certificate student,” for a modest daily fee. Session recordings will be available to all registrants until May 2025. Recordings will be available about a week after the end of the program.

  There is no charge for the streamed sessions at the Denver Art Museum on Wednesday, June 26. 

  If you need registration assistance, please contact the support team at the Center for Professional Development at (303)-871-2291. 

  Online attendance (non-certificate) registration deadline: Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 5pm MDT. 

  Register by the Day 

  • Monday, June 24, 2024: $50 
  • Tuesday, June 25, 2024:  $50 
  • Wednesday, June 26, 2024: $0 (sessions streamed from the Denver Art Museum) 
  • Thursday, June 27, 2024: $50 
  • Friday, June 28 – 2024: $50 
  • 5-Day Discount - $180 

   

  Online Attendance Schedule: Fundamentals of Nazi-Era Art Provenance Research, June 24 - 28, 2024 

  Monday, June 24, 2024 

  The Mechanisms and Legacy of Nazi Art Plunder; Provenance Research Resources 

  Moderator: Elizabeth Campbell, University of Denver  

  9:00 – 9:15 am: Welcome and introductions with ACE Director, Elizabeth Campbell. Introduction of planning team members. 

  9:15 – 10:30 am: The Mechanisms and Legacy of Nazi Art Plunder, Elizabeth Campbell, Director, Center for Art Collection Ethics, University of Denver 

  10:30 – 10:45 am: Break  

  10:45 am – 12:00 pm: Claimants’ Panel: Carrie Baker, President and Founder, Veritas Fine Art Appraisals & Consulting; Jona Goldschmidt, Claimant and grandson of Fritz and Thea Goldschmidt; Laurel Zuckerman, Claimant in Zuckerman v. Metropolitan Museum of Art, editor Open Art Data 

  12:00 – 1:00 pm: Lunch  

  1:00 – 2:00 pm: Overview of provenance research sources, Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery 

  2:00 – 2:15 pm: Break  

  2:15 – 3:00 pm: NARA Resources, Sylvia Naylor, Archivist, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

  3:30 – 4:30 pm: Resources at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Sandra van Ginhoven, Head, Getty Provenance Index, Getty Research Institute with recorded presentation by Sally McKay, Head, Research Services and Specialist in Provenance, Getty Research Institute   

  4:30 – 5:00 pm: Wrap-up discussion: What have we learned? Additional conversation and Q&A 

   

  Tuesday, June 25, 2024 

  Archival Resources; the Art Loss Register; Legal Solutions: Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution; a case study at Yale University 

  9:00 – 9:05 am: Daily welcome by Elizabeth Campbell, Director, Center for Art Collection Ethics, University of Denver 

  9:05 – 9:45 am: Exploring Resources at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Washington, D.C., Megan Lewis, Reference Librarian at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

  9:45 – 10:00 am: Break 

  10:00 – 11:00 am: 25 Years of the Washington Principles: Progress and Lack Thereof, Marc Masurovsky, Historian and Co-founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project (HARP) 

  11:15 am – 12:15 pm: Due Diligence and Digital Research at the Art Loss Register, Amelie Ebbinghaus, Director, Art Loss Register, London 

  12:15 – 1:15 pm: Lunch at Central Market food court, Community Commons 

  1:15 – 2:30 pm: Legal Approaches to Art Restitution Claims, Nicholas O’Donnell, Litigation Partner, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Boston; Anna Rubin, Director, Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York Department of Financial Services 

  2:30 – 2:45 pm: Break 

  2:45 – 3:45: Research Resources at the Frick, Elizabeth Kobert, Archivist, Frick Art Reference Library; Suz Massen, Associate Chief Librarian, Access, Frick Art Reference Library; John McQuaid, Photoarchive Lead, Frick Art Reference Library 

  3:45 pm – 4:00 pm: Break 

  4:00 – 5:15 pm: The Schaefer Collection at Yale: A Case Study, Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery 

  5:15 – 5:45 pm: Wrap-up discussion: What have we learned? Additional conversation and Q&A

  6:00 – 6:30 pm: Dinner at Central Market food court, Community Commons 

   

  Wednesday, June 26, 2024 

  Case Studies at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) 

  10:00 – 11:30 am: Grotesque Allegories: Exploring the Provenance & History of Arcimboldo’s Summer & Autumn, Renée Albiston, Associate Provenance Researcher, Denver Art Museum 

  11:30 am – 2:00 pm: Lunch  

  2:00 - 3:30 pm: Repatriations over a Half-Century, Lori Iliff, Senior Provenance Researcher, Denver Art Museum 

   

  Thursday, June 27, 2024 

  Writing Provenance Narratives; Sharing Research with the Public; Research Beyond Paintings 

  8:30 – 8:35 am: Daily welcome by Elizabeth Campbell.  

  8:35 – 9:15 am: Provenance Research Today: 25 Years After the Washington Principles, Meike Hopp, Professor for Digital Provenance Research at the Technische Universität Berlin 

  9:15 – 9:30: Break 

  9:30 – 10:30: Exhibition Narratives and Presenting Provenance Research to the Public, Jacques Schuhmacher, Senior Provenance Research Curator, Victoria & Albert Museum, London 

  10:30 – 10:45 am: Break 

  10:45 am – 12:00 pm: Writing a provenance narrative, Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery, Renée Albiston, Associate Provenance Researcher, Denver Art Museum 

  12:00 – 1:00 pm: Lunch  

  1:00 – 2:30 pm: Beyond Paintings: Provenance Research on Asian art, near Eastern Antiquities and Archaeological property, and musical instruments and manuscripts, Anne Dunn-Vaturi, Senior Provenance Researcher, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Joanna M. Gohmann, Provenance Researcher & Object Historian, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art; Carla Shapreau, Curator, Salz Collection of Stringed Instruments; Lecturer, School of Law; and Senior Fellow, Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley 

  2:30 – 2:45 pm: Break 

  2:45 – 3:45 pm: After the Research: Provenance at Work, Renée Albiston, Associate Provenance Researcher, Denver Art Museum; Mac Coyle, Provenance Research Fellow, Denver Art Museum

   

  Friday, June 28, 2024 

  Keynote Address and Student Symposium 

  8:00 – 9:30 am: Keynote Address: Cross-border Claims to Looted Art: Obstacles and Models, Dr. Evelien Campfens, Lecturer, Cultural Heritage Law and Looted Art and Restitution, University of Amsterdam 

  9:30 am – 1:00 pm: Break; certificate students finalize presentations 

  1:00 – 4:00 pm: Symposium: Five group presentations by certificate students with short breaks between panels  

  4:00 – 4:15 pm: Break 

  4:15 – 5:00 pm: Debrief: What have we learned? Q&A with the experts and conclusion of the virtual program.