Paintings, sculptures, “Hollandmöbel”. Provenance research at Oldenburg State Museum for Art and Cultural History

The aim of the long-term project “Paintings, sculptures, ‘Hollandmöbel’. Provenance research at Oldenburg State Museum for Art and Cultural History” was to systematically index the museum’s collection holdings. It was conducted over a period of three years—from October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2015—and was funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The project was based on structural preparatory work and preliminary searches that had been undertaken beforehand. These began in February 2011 for one year in connection with the “Musealog”1 training course and follow-up financing from the state of Lower Saxony.

The acquisitions made between 1933 and 1945 were examined to establish whether there were any indications of circumstances involving persecution, though only some particularly prominent acquisitions could be examined in greater depth. The systematic and detailed origin check of all remaining acquisitions is yet to be undertaken. With the start of the project, the work on the “core years” was suspended and, in accordance with the theme, devoted to the following key research areas:

Investigation of the State Museum’s painting and sculpture collection

In the research project, the origin of paintings created prior to 1945 and acquired in the period from 1945 to 1966 was examined. The period selected is based on Herbert Wolfgang Keiser’s Oldenburg Painting Gallery inventory list, in which the State Museum’s stock of paintings up to 1966 are recorded. One key area was the paintings from the Classical Modernism period which were increasingly acquired during these years—undoubtedly also to close the gaps that had been caused by the “degenerate art” campaign. Special attention was also given to the Helene and Arnold Blome Bequest, through which 35 paintings came into the collections of the State Museum.

In addition, the State Museum’s sculpture collection was reviewed, with the focus here also on the acquisition years 1945 to 1966 in the interests of systematic investigation.

Examination of the State Museum’s furniture collection

In view of Oldenburg’s geographical location and the resulting importance of the city and the region during the Second World War, items of furniture acquired between 1940 and 1945 were examined to identify any “Hollandmöbel” (Dutch furniture) which may have entered the local collections as part of the “M-Aktion” campaign. This assumption partly results from the fact that there is evidence showing that the city and region of Oldenburg served as collection points for “Hollandmöbel” between 1942 and 1945. A search was also made for objects obtained from “Aktion 3”, i.e. acquired from so-called Jewish auctions in the city and region.

Communication and education

For over four years, Oldenburg State Museum for Art and Cultural History has been delivering educational activities designed to communicate the approaches and findings of provenance research to a wide public audience. This work has proved successful to date. One of the goals of the project was thus also to develop educational methods in order to reach the State Museum’s interested visitors, employees and trainees through museum tours, specialist presentations, seminars and workshops. How can provenance research in the museum be made visible for the public and conveyed against the backdrop of historic and current debates in politics and society? In addition, with the aid of the educational work, the aim has been—and is being—pursued of implementing provenance research as a working method in the collections and creating permanent structures which ensure that provenance research at Oldenburg State Museum serves as an integral component of its museum work.

The training aspect is also of major importance for provenance research at Oldenburg State Museum. As part of traineeships, study internships and the “Musealog” training course, trainees are regularly given introductions to provenance research and are included in research processes. In addition, a cooperative partnership established in 2012 between Oldenburg State Museum for Art and Cultural History and Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg enables students to learn about the theory and practice of provenance research during their degree program.

1 Musealog is an eight-month training course that trains participants to become specialists in collection management and quality standards in museums. It is run by the Verein zum Erfassen, Erschließen und Erhalten der historischen Sachkultur im Weser-Ems-Gebiet e.V. See: http://www.musealog.de.

(c) State Museum for Art and Cultural History Oldenburg