S.F. museums checking on artworks suspected of being looted by Nazis
May 3, 2021 | In the PressFrom San Francisco Chronicle (https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/art-exhibits/fine-arts-museums-of-san-francisco-investigating-dozen-of-its-pieces-that-may-have-ties-to-nazi-era-art-looting)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is undertaking a new examination of the history of a dozen artworks in its collection, following a recent inquiry by a Northern California publication that raised questions about whether some of the institution’s holdings may have ties to Nazi-era art looting.
The works, which date from the 15th to the 19th centuries, have gaps in their provenance (a detailed history of ownership) that can sometimes be a sign of theft. There is no evidence that these works were stolen, FAMSF spokesperson Miriam Newcomer told The Chronicle on Monday.
“We have not received any claims on these works, but obviously we take questions of repatriation very seriously,” Newcomer said in a phone interview. “So we are pursuing this as an act of transparency.”
The works in the San Francisco collection were flagged in an article last month by J., the Jewish News of Northern California. In response, FAMSF — which oversees both the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor — submitted a list of artworks to the Art Loss Register, an international database that tracks potentially stolen art, antiques and collectibles.
Newcomer said a full review of the works’ history would take at least a month.
“This is a very tricky period, and we try to be as thorough as possible in tracking the history,” she said, adding that issues of provenance are not uncommon for art that changed hands around the time of World War II. “It’s standard practice when there are missing details of provenance to make inquiries.”
Questions were first raised in 2001 about 10 of these pieces, which include “Washerwoman” by the French painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and two landscapes by the 19th century Dutch painter Jacob Henricus Maris.
At that point, FAMSF added them to the register of the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal Project, a searchable list of artworks that may be connected to art looting during the Third Reich. But in the subsequent two decades, there were no claims made about their history.
The J. article added two more works to the list, an anonymous 15th century portrait of Mary Magdelene and a pencil sketch by the artist Rudolph Grossmann. Neither work is currently on public display.
