Cranbrook Art Museum - Collections - WWII Provenance Research -

World War II Provenance Research: Cranbrook Art Museum, with the American Association of Museums, is working to become part of a group of museums that have listed works of art in their collections which contain questions and gaps in their provenance between 1933 - 1945. Museums around the world are working to compile these lists in order to help individuals and their families claim artworks that may have been stolen or looted in occupied Europe during World War II. The information listed on this site is part of an ongoing process and will be updated periodically. What is Provenance? "Provenance" is the term used to describe the ownership history of a particular work of art from the time it was created by an artist up through its current owner. This information is invaluable, as it can aid in the determination of the authenticity of a piece, help scholars determine other artists that may have come in contact with the work and who were possibly influenced by it, and, often, can establish the legitimacy of a work of art’s current ownership. Although of utmost importance, provenance varies greatly in its completeness. It is relatively easy to determine the history of a work of art that was recently completed, but older pieces often have gaps in their ownership history as records can be easily misplaced, previous owners may have wished to remain anonymous, galleries have gone out of business, and other situations occur which result in the loss of important information. When determining an object’s provenance, scholars rely on information from sources such as past art auction catalogues, catalogues raisonné (books that cover an artist’s career in entirety), old invoices, museum and gallery exhibition catalogues, and knowledge that they gain from correspondence with other art historians. Priceless information also can be learned from the artwork itself – an artist’s signature, labels and other markings on the reverse of a canvas or frame, and the condition of a piece – can indicate where a particular piece has been stored or has traveled throughout its history. Cranbrook Art Museum’s Collection Today, Cranbrook Art Museum collects significant works of art, architecture and design from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with an interest in works of art that reflect the history of Cranbrook Educational Community and its artists, in particular work created by architects, artists and designers that have in some way been associated with Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook Art Museum as faculty, students, staff, visiting artists, exhibiting artists and lecturers. The Art Museum’s collection also contains pieces given to Cranbrook Educational Community by its founders, George and Ellen Booth and their children. These works were collected by the Booth family to adorn their home and grounds and serve as a study collection for the artists working at Cranbrook Academy of Art. The collection ranges in scope from Greek architectural fragments to renaissance furniture and pre-twentieth-century paintings. Cranbrook Art Museum’s Provenance Research In the late-1990’s, as initially mandated by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and subsequently by the American Association of Museums (AAM), museums throughout Europe and the United States began compiling lists of artwork that may have been inappropriately taken by Nazis occupying parts of Europe between 1933 and 1945. Museums use these years as guidelines and are undertaking additional research on items that were acquired in or after 1933 and made in or before 1945. At this time, special consideration is given to Judaica (objects pertaining to the material culture of the Jewish people) and paintings of European origin. As the provenance of individual works of art can vary greatly in completeness and accuracy, it is difficult to ascertain precisely where and under whose ownership a piece has been held. The result of this is that Cranbrook Art Museum has decided to publish all works of art that meet the above criteria, even if a particular piece was most likely not in Europe during the years specified and not likely to have been confiscated by Nazis. Because the majority of works in Cranbrook Art Museum’s collection were created in the United States and were never part of European collections, we have identified only four objects that fall within the realm of possible Nazi confiscation, based on the criteria outlined above. Information on each piece was found through the Museum’s curatorial files, invoices and other records held at Cranbrook Archives, consultation and research conducted through various international and national libraries, museums, and websites on the subject. The research included on this site will be updated as more information on each piece is known. Should you have any questions and/or information pertaining to any of the works listed, please contact the Director of Cranbrook Art Museum at artmuseum@cranbrook.edu. The following are links relating to the research and recovery of lost World War II era artworks:
American Association of Museums	American Association of Museum Directors	Commission for Art Recovery
German government list of looted works	US Holocaust Memorial Museum	Holocaust Art Restitution Project
International Foundation of Art Research	Museum Security Network
List of Artworks:
1. Jean Baptiste Camille Corot French (1796-1875) La Rencontre dans la Vallée 1870-1871 Oil on canvas 18 _ x 15 in. Signed lower right: Corot Stenciled on reverse: TABLEAUX MODERNES/A. Diot/Paris/58, Rue Lafitte BERNHEIM, JEUNE/ EXPERT/8, Rue Lafitte, Paris Gift of George G. Booth, 1944 CAM 1944.69
Provenance/Ownership History: 1888: Bernheim-Jeune Collection, Paris, France June 1944: George G. Booth purchased the painting from The Schneider-Gabriel Galleries, Inc., New York, New York Reproduced: Alfred Robaut, L’Oeuvre de Corot vol. III (Paris, 1905), page 365, catalogued on page 364, number 2335. The painting still is listed as being in the collection of M. Bernheim-Jeune at the time of the book’s publication in 1905. Curatorial Notes: Alexander Bernheim-Jeune (1839-1915), a friend of important artists, including Delacroix, Gustave Courbet and Corot, opened his first gallery in 1863 where he showed artists of the Barbizon school and, in 1874, was one of the first to organize an exhibition of impressionist art. This gallery still is in existence and can be accessed via the internet at www.bernheim-jeune.com.

2. Style of Anthony Van Dyck Flemish (1599-1641) Portrait of Adrien Stalbent (Portrait of a Man) c.1630 Oil on paper mounted on oak panel 8 7/8 x 17 1/8 in. Gift of George G. Booth, 1945 CAM 1945.2
Provenance/Ownership History: Pre-1941: Collection of William Randolph Hearst. In 1941, Hearst commissioned Gimbel Brothers of New York to sell a large portion of his personal art collection in what has been called "The Sale of the Century." February 1945: George G. Booth purchased the painting from Gimbel Brothers, New York, New York Reproduced: World Collectors Annuary, vol. I, 1946-1949, number 2703. J. Smith, Anthony Van Dyck Catalogue Raisonné, vol. III (London, 1831), page 213, number 753. Curatorial Notes: The painting was certified authentic by Dr. W. R. Valentiner, Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, on May 10, 1944. Valentier wrote that it was identical to an engraved image in Van Dyck’s collection of portraits of artists and art collectors known as Iconographia. Valentiner believed CAM 1945.2 to be either a study for the engraving, or a copy done by Van Dyck for his friend and the subject of this painting, the painter Adrien Stalbent. On March 18, 1954, however, this painting was deemed a copy, and not an original work by Van Dyck by the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague.

3. Attributed to Jean Baptiste Camille Corot French (1796-1875) Landscape c. 1865-1870 Oil on canvas 11 _ x 17 _ in. Signed lower left: COROT Gift to Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1947 CAM 1946.13
Provenance/Ownership History: November 1946: Donated to Cranbrook Academy of Art by Joseph H. Hunter, Beverly Hills, California. Curatorial notes: Unlike CAM 1944.69, La Rencontre dans la Vallée, this painting is not included in Alfred Robaut’s L’Oeuvre de Corot, 1905.

4. Georg Mayer-Marton Austrian (1897-1960) Sunday in the Tyrol 1935 watercolor 14 _ x 19 _ in. Label on reverse: Georg Mayer-Marton/ Wien (1008)/ "SONNTAG en TIROL" 1935 Gift of George Booth, 1955 CAM 1955.61
Provenance/Ownership History: April 1937: George Booth purchased the watercolor from the "The International School of Art" exhibition 1942: Donated by George Booth to Cranbrook Art Museum 1955: Accessioned into Cranbrook Art Museum’s permanent collection Sunday in the Tyrol was purchased through funds from George Booth’s "Etchings Account" at "The International School of Art" exhibition, a sale whose location has since been lost. According to records, all items in this account were donated to Cranbrook Academy of Art on two occasions, October 1933 and May 21, 1942, although this painting was not formally accessioned in the Art Museum’s permanent collection until 1955. Curatorial Note: Mayor-Marton immigrated to England in 1937, the year Booth purchased CAM 1955.61.