Project to systematically investigate collections for paintings confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution

The research project is examining all the paintings held at the Kunsthalle Bremen in order to clarify the urgent issue of whether they include works that were confiscated as a result of persecution during the National Socialist era.

One of the main results will be to develop a structured and statistically informed overview in the form of case groups on provenance status. In particular, the focus is on defining those masterpieces with a questionable origin and subsequently carrying out detailed case-by-case analyses, with the aim of returning the artwork where possible.

Kunsthalle Bremen’s entire painting collection has been available online at http://www.kunsthalle-bremen.de/sammlung/online-katalog/ since March 2013.

By publishing details of all paintings acquired during the National Socialist era and the post-war era, the Kunsthalle Bremen is complying with one of the basic demands of the Berlin Declaration (1999). As one of the first online art collections, this database will provide up-to-date research findings on the previous ownership status of the works.

The 614 paintings to be examined are divided into the following categories:

· Acquisitions from 1933–1944 (Nazi era) 114 paintings

· Acquisitions from 1945–1972 (post-war era) 315 paintings

· Acquisitions from 1973–2012 (present) 185 paintings

Around one third of the acquisitions come from the art market. Experience shows that this is an acquisition group requiring a particularly critical analysis. However, most of the paintings come from private owners, frequently from members of the Kunstverein (the private body responsible for the Kunsthalle). In some cases, the works are old family property which have been on show in the Kunsthalle for decades already as loans for exhibitions or in publications. Just as frequently, however, evidence can be found that the masterpieces from private owners were only acquired from art dealers after 1933. In this context, the acquisitions made by some Bremen private collectors in occupied countries such as France and the Netherlands in 1940–1944 appear particularly controversial.

In terms of content, these planned research activities are directly linked to the project funded by the Bureau for Provenance Research: Arnold Blome, Heinrich Glosemeyer and Hugo Oelze - three Bremen merchants and their role in the art market from 1933 to 1972. This project was successfully completed in December 2013. Its findings provide the ideal foundation and best possible platform on which to assess the acquisition profile of the remaining paintings obtained by the Kunsthalle Bremen after 1933.

© Kunsthalle Bremen