Training

Provenance Research Today: Issues, Resources and Networks

Hybrid Training Program

• Program Summary

  The program includes:

  • Interactive lectures and discussions with field experts including historians, provenance researchers, attorneys, museum professionals, and art market representatives
  • Information on archival and library resources in the United States and abroad 
  • Workshops on writing provenance narratives, transparency, and public engagement
  • Legal and ethical dimensions of stewardship related to antiquities and archaeological objects, items from Native American and Indigenous communities, and art stolen and sold under duress in the Nazi era
  • Art recovery from the perspective of claimants 
  • Keynote address by Dr. Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Research Professor of Law, DePaul University; Director, DePaul University Center for Art, Museum and Cultural Heritage Law.
  • Case study analysis presented by Mac Coyle, Provenance Fellow at the Denver Art Museum
  • Certificate students complete written and oral assignments, using resources discussed throughout the week
  • Confirmed speakers include:
    • Leila Amineddoleh, Chair, Art Law Group, Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP
    • Lilah Aubrey, Managing Director, Art Ashes Foundation
    • Kate Aufses, Counsel, Freedman Normand Friedland LLP
    • Judith Barr, Curatorial Assistant, Antiquities, J. Paul Getty Museum
    • Randolph J. "Randy" Deaton IV, Security Officer, BOM Bank, and retired FBI Special Agent and FBI Art Crime Team member
    • Anne Dunn-Vaturi, Senior Provenance Researcher, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
    • Laura Elliff Cruz, Head of Collections, School for Advanced Research
    • Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, JD, MA, Executive Director, Restitution Study Group
    • Carlee S. Forbes, Associate Curator of African and Oceanic Art, Baltimore Museum of Art
    • Daniel Healey, Provenance Research Specialist, Worcester Art Museum
    • Eric Hormell, Metadata Specialist, Getty Provenance Index
    • Christina Kreps, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Denver
    • Elizabeth Marlowe, Professor of Art History and Director of the Program in Museum Studies, Colgate University
    • Kim Pasqual-Charlie (Pueblo of Acoma), Tribal Historic Preservation Office Advisory Board
    • Sally McKay, Head, Research Services and Specialist in Provenance, Getty Research Institute
    • James Ratcliffe, Mediator, General Counsel & Director of Recoveries at the Art Loss Register
    • Anna B. Rubin, Director, Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York Department of Financial Services
    • Jacques Schuhmacher, Executive Director of Provenance Research, The Art Institute of Chicago
    • Till Vere-Hodge, Partner at Payne Hicks Beach
• Application Requirements and Timeline

  Application Requirements 

  • Complete the application form (fillable pdf) linked below: 

    • 2025 Certificate Application

  • Attachments requested in the application form include: 

  • Transcript(s) of higher education completed or in progress thus far, or an essay explaining equivalent experience 

  • Abbreviated CV or résumé, including relevant education and professional experience (not to exceed 2 pages)  

  • An essay addressing the following questions (in up to 1000 words): Why would you like to participate in this training program, and what do you hope to gain from it? How has your previous academic and/or work experience shaped your commitment to the ethical stewardship of objects? How do you envision applying these skills in future work positions? 

  • After filling out the application form, please send it with your transcript, CV or résumé, and essay in a single pdf file to ahss.ace@du.edu with the subject line "Last Name First Name - Application"

  • One recommendation form and letter of recommendation to be sent directly from the referrer to ahss.ace@du.edu with the subject line “Last Name First Name – Reference"

  • The recommendation form can be downloaded below: 

  2025 Recommendation Form.docx (146.94 KB)

   

  Application Timeline 

  • Apply for certificate program acceptance through Friday, April 4, at.11:59 PM MT.

  • Notifications of acceptance in mid-April. Twenty certificate students will be accepted.

  • Program dates: Arrival on campus and dorm check-in on Sunday afternoon, June 22. All-day program Monday, June 23 – Friday, June 27. Dorm check-out Saturday morning, June 28. 

  Certificate program fee: $1,500 

  The program fee includes: 

  • Lodging in an upscale, apartment-style dormitory with single bedrooms 

  • Meals, including welcome reception and final banquet 

  • Transportation locally to the Denver Art Museum 

  • 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 through May 2026. 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 Thursday, June 26. 

  Register as an online (non-certificate) student below. Register by Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM MDT. Full program schedule below, subject to change.

  Monday, June 23, 2025: $55

  Tuesday, June 24, 2025: $55

  Wednesday, June 25, 2025: $55

  Thursday, June 26, 2025: $0 (Sessions streamed from the Denver Art Museum)

  Friday, June 27, 2025: $55

  Five-Day Discount: $198

   

  Online Attendance Schedule: Provenance Research Today: Issues, Resources and Networks

  June 23 - 27, 2025

   

  Monday, June 23, 2025

  Recent History of Provenance Research and Restitution; Native American Cultural Heritage; Introduction to Research Resources and Methodology

  Moderator: Elizabeth Campbell, University of Denver  

  9:00 – 9:15 am: Welcome and introductions with ACE Director, Elizabeth Campbell

  9:15 – 10:30 am: Provenance Research, Repatriation and Restitution: A Brief History, Elizabeth Campbell, Professor of History; Founding Director, Center for Art Collection Ethics, University of Denver

  10:30 – 10:45 am: Break  

  10:45 am – 12:00 pm: Collaboration and Resonating Change in Museum Collections Stewardship, Laura Elliff Cruz, Head of Collections, School for Advanced Research

  12:15 – 1:15 pm: Lunch  

  1:15 – 2:30 pm:  Claimants' Perspectives: Anna B. Rubin, Director, Holocaust Claims Processing Office, New York State Department of Financial Services; Kim Pasqual-Charlie (Pueblo of Acoma), Tribal Historic Preservation Office Advisory Board; Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, Executive Director, Restitution Study Group (on Benin Bronzes); Till Vere-Hodge, Partner at Payne Hicks Beach. 

  2:30 – 2:45 pm: Break  

  2:45 – 4:00 pm: Overview of Provenance Research Resources and Methodologies: Establishing Ownership and Recordkeeping, Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery

  4:00 – 4:15: Break

  4:15 – 5:00 pm: Updates from the Art Ashes Foundation, Lilah Aubrey, Managing Director, Art Ashes Foundation and Wrap-up discussion: What have we learned? Additional conversation and Q&A, Elizabeth Campbell, Professor of History; Founding Director, Center for Art Collection Ethics, University of Denver

   

  Tuesday, June 24, 2025

  Nazi Era Provenance Research; Antiquities and Archaeological Property

  8:00 – 9:00 am: Overview of Nazi Era Resources, Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery

  9:15 – 10:15 am: Nazi Era Legal Trends, Kate Aufses, Counsel with Freedman Normand Friedland LLP

  10:15 – 10:30 am: Break

  10:30 am – 12:00 pm: Nazi Era Case Study: The Schaefer Collection at Yale University Art Gallery, Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery

  12:15 – 1:15 pm: Lunch

  1:15 – 2:30 pm: Introduction to Antiquities/Archaeological, Leila Amineddoleh, Chair, Art Law Group, Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

  2:30 – 2:45 pm: Break

  2:45 – 4:00 pm: Overview of Antiquities and Archaeological Resources, Judith Barr, Curatorial Assistant, Antiquities, J. Paul Getty Museum

  4:00 – 4:15 pm: Break

  4:15 – 5:30 pm:  Provenance Resources at the Getty Research Institute: Getty Library Special Collections and the Getty Provenance Index, Eric Hormell, Research Database Editor, Getty Research Institute; Sally McKay, Head, Research Services, Getty Research Institute

  5:30 – 5:45 pm: Wrap-up discussion: What have we learned? Additional conversation and Q&A

   

  Wednesday, June 25, 2025

  Antiquities and Archaeological Property; Global Indigenous Objects

  9:00 – 10:15 am: Perspectives from the Field: Provenance Research on Antiquities and Archaeological Property, Anne Dunn-Vaturi, Senior Provenance Researcher, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Daniel Healey, Provenance Research Specialist, Worcester Art Museum; James Ratcliffe, General Counsel and Director of Recoveries at the Art Loss Register

  10:15 – 10:30 am: Break

  10:30 am – 12:00 pm: Provenance Research on Items Transferred in a Colonial Context, Carlee S. Forbes, Associate Curator of African and Oceanic Art, Baltimore Museum of Art

  12:15 – 1:15 pm: Lunch  

  1:15 – 2:45 pm: Roundtable: Restitution and Repatriation in Theory and in Practice, Randolph J. "Randy" Deaton IV, Security Officer, BOM Bank, and retired FBI Special Agent and FBI Art Crime Team member; Christina Kreps, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Denver; Elizabeth Marlowe, Professor of Art History and Director of the Program in Museum Studies, Colgate University; Jacques Schuhmacher, Executive Director of Provenance Research, The Art Institute of Chicago

  2:45 – 3:00 pm: Break

  3:00 – 4:00 pm: Writing a Provenance Narrative, Renée Albiston, Provenance Researcher and Head of Provenance Research Department, Denver Art Museum

   

  Thursday, June 26, 2025

  Site visit at the Denver Art Museum

  Streamed and available to online students at no charge. Registration required.

  9:00 – 10:00 am: Looking Out, Looking In: Legacies of the Masuda Collection, Mac Coyle, Provenance Research Fellow, Denver Art Museum

   

  Friday, June 27, 2025

  Keynote Address and Student Symposium

  9:00 – 10:15 am: Keynote Address: Why Should We Care About Provenance: Its Legal and Ethical Dimensions in the Acquisition of Artworks and Antiquities, Dr. Patty Gerstenblith, Distinguished Research Professor of Law, DePaul University; Director, DePaul University Center for Art, Museum and Cultural Heritage Law

  10:30 am – 1:00 pm: Break, as certificate students finalize presentations

  1:00 – 4:00 pm: Symposium and closing remarks: Group presentations by certificate students with short breaks between panels  

  4:00 – 4:15 p.m.: Break

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