From 1933 to 1945, during the period of Nazi domination in Germany, millions of objects of art and cultural property in Continental Europe were unlawfully and often forcibly taken from their rightful owners, including private citizens, victims of the Holocaust, museums and galleries, and religious and educational institutions. Following the end of World War II and the end of the Nazi regime, some of these objects were returned to their countries of origin, and to their rightful owners or heirs. Many objects, however, have found their way into private collections as well as public museums around the world.

In the late 1990s, the American Association of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (PCHA) developed guidelines for presenting information on Nazi-era objects to the public. In compliance with these guidelines, museums have been making information available on those objects in their collections that might have changed hands in Continental Europe between 1932 and 1945. In addition to the guidelines and procedures, posted on AAM’s website (http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/prov/index.cfm), the American Association of Museums developed the Nazi-era Provenance Internet Portal (www.nepip.org). This internet database allows museums to make Nazi-era provenance information available to the public, and allows researchers to access this information from multiple museums in a central location.

Unlike many other museums that actively collected after World War II, Vizcaya acquired virtually all of its collections prior to 1920 under the patronage of its creator James Deering, and these have no possible association with the Nazi regime. However, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens has identified 34 objects—all from a single donation to the museum in the 1980s—that meet the professional criteria for meriting public review. Specifically:

- the objects were created before 1946;
- they were acquired by the museum after 1932;
- they may have changed hands between 1932 and 1946; and
- they were or may have been in Continental Europe between those dates.

As a result of the increased awareness of Nazi-era provenance and the availability of such information, Vizcaya identified and returned one plundered painting to its rightful owner. During the Nazi occupation of Poland, The Holy Trinity, Seat of Mercy, attributed to Georg Pencz (1500–1550), had been removed from the National Museum in Warsaw without authorization. After changing hands several times following World War II, it was donated to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in 1981, which had no knowledge of its prior history. In 2002, Vizcaya returned the painting to the National Museum in Warsaw, rapidly after this organization made Vizcaya aware of the painting’s history.

The Provenance Research Gallery  shows the remaining 33 objects in Vizcaya’s collection that meet the above criteria, along with pertinent information, including provenance. None of these objects are part of the original collection of James Deering, nor are they part of the original inventory of Vizcaya. Instead, they make up a collection donated to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens by the late Mr. Claire Mendel of Miami Beach. For many objects no provenance information is available prior to Mr. Mendel’s ownership, pending further research. Inquiries regarding this collection or provenance information can be directed to Remko Jansonius, Collections and Archives Manager, at remko.jansonius@vizcayamuseum.org.

The provenance research on the Mendel collection is supported by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Rosenstiel Foundation.

Top