Provenance Research in the Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee. The Collection of the Max Liebermann Society

This research project, funded by the German Lost Art Foundation, sets out to investigate the collection of the Max Liebermann Society (Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft Berlin e.V.). The project aims to close gaps in the collection’s provenance histories in the years 1933 to 1945, with a view to identifying works that may have been illegally confiscated through persecution under the National Socialist regime, and in turn achieving fair and just solutions for the rightful owners. The project also aims to develop new tools and methods for researching the provenance of Liebermann works, and to make these readily available to a wider public.

The collection of the Max Liebermann Society is housed at the Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee, the world’s only museum dedicated to the life and work of Max Liebermann. From its foundation in 1995, the Max Liebermann Society has built up a collection for the museum, comprising primarily artworks, books and archival materials. 73 of these objects will be considered by the current research project, 71 of which are by Max Liebermann. These 73 objects were acquired by the Society as purchases or gifts between 1995 and 2013 and encompass four oil paintings, nineteen drawings, pastels or watercolours, and fifty prints. This proactive investigation of its own collection is of great importance to the Max Liebermann Society, allowing the Liebermann-Villa – as a private museum – to make its own contribution to National Socialist-era provenance research.

As an artist, Max Liebermann is consistently present in provenance research projects and restitution cases. In the years before 1933 his works were highly popular with collectors in the German-speaking world. Many of the collections lost or stolen during the years of National Socialism contained Liebermann pieces. At the same time, the Jewish Max Liebermann was himself directly affected by the policies of the Hitler regime. In 1933 he was forced to give up his position as President of the Academy of Arts in Berlin. In the following years his artworks were removed from museums across Germany. Following the artist’s death in 1935, his wife Martha faced persecution and the confiscation of her possessions. The family’s art collection – containing many Liebermann works – was largely lost after 1935. Faced with deportation to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Martha Liebermann committed suicide in Berlin in 1943.

(c) Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft Berlin