Provenance Research in U.S. Museums

Picture (1): Captain Fred Levy of Dallas, TX opens packages containing artwork looted by the Nazis for the private collection of Joseph Goebbels. National Archives and Records Administration; Picture (2): ERR-Lager Paris, Bildermagazin (1942/1943 ca.). Bundesarchiv B 323 Bild-0311-031. Picture (3): Sgt. Harold Maus of Scranton, PA examines an album of engravings by Albrecht Dürer that was found in a vault containing numerous other art treasures that were looted by the Nazi regime. National Archives and Records Administration. Picture (4): Bundles of currency, confiscated art, and other valuables from Berlin are uncovered by U.S. troops with the 90th Division, U.S. Third Army in the Merkers salt mine. National Archives and Records Administration

Report on the Extent of Provenance Research Regarding Nazi-looted Cultural and Religious Property in U.S. Museums

On September 25, 2025, the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) released a report entitled “Report on the Extent of Provenance Research Regarding Nazi-looted Cultural and Religious Property in U.S. Museums.” The report reveals that there are major gaps in the provision of publicly accessible provenance research on potentially looted objects that were in Europe during the Holocaust and are currently held by U.S. museums.

The report estimates that U.S. museums likely hold well over 100,000 covered objects—which includes works looted during the Nazi era—yet barely 10% of that number (10,668) currently have publicly accessible provenance research and probably far less if one takes into account all types of art.

The report analyzed the websites of 160 art museums in the United States that were formerly part of the Nazi Era Provenance Internet Portal (NEPIP, here called the Portal), created in 2003 by the American Association of Museums (AAM) [now the American Alliance of Museums]. The Portal provided a centralized, searchable database of provenance information and, at its peak, listed nearly 30,000 objects. The Portal was originally created in response to the 1998 Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art to provide a single point of contact to dozens of U.S. museum collections and help people seeking lost objects refine their searches, but was closed in 2024. The stated reason for the closure was, in part, that many museums now maintain their own publicly accessible, searchable, and regularly updated online collections databases. However, the report shows that only a small portion of U.S. museums provide accessible object-level Nazi-era provenance research information on their websites and that overall accessible publication of provenance research on Holocaust-era relevant items is very limited, underscoring the urgent need for much more intensive provenance research and far greater transparency on the part of U.S museums.

Key findings from the WJRO report include:
  1. Among the 160 museums analyzed, only 33 museums (21%) currently provide easily accessible, object-level Nazi-era provenance information on their websites.
  2. The Portal provided information on 29,817 objects with provenance gaps. While an online excel list is still available that provides data for 160 museums that were part of the Portal, the list provides no information on the provenance of the items that might help a former owner or their heirs identify them, such as the previous history of ownership of the item. The 33 museums mentioned above now provide information on only 10,668 objects, which represents 36% of the objects that were previously accessible on the Portal, and nearly half (15, or 45%) provide less information today than they did through the Portal.
  3. Out of the 33 cultural institutions that provide object-level Nazi-era provenance information, 21 museums, or 64% only provide provenance information for objects from their European collections, even though many items that were looted were not of European origin.  Additional object-level provenance information is available for several other museums in addition to the 33 museums that currently provide easily accessible Nazi-era provenance information, but the information is embedded in the general collection database and cannot be accessed as an independent listing.
  4. Among the 160 museums analyzed, a number of museums posted objects with provenance gaps early during the Portal’s existence but have not since disclosed any additional research. 61 museums, or 38%, posted objects in the first three years—namely, between 2003 and 2005—and have since not updated their information in the past 20 years.
  5. The Portal limited its provenance research results to eight art categories, even though the provenance research field developed greatly over the past two decades and numerous other databases that were created allowed for a more nuanced description of the object and foremost the recording of additional categories of object.

The report emphasizes that publicly accessible provenance research is not only good museum practice and important to educate the public but is a critical element in ensuring a fair and transparent claims process so that rightful owners or their heirs can locate and identify looted items.

These findings come just over a year after the launch of the 2024 Best Practices for the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, developed jointly by WJRO and the U.S. Department of State and so far endorsed by 34 countries. The Best Practices states that:

  • Governments should encourage provenance research and projects to catalogue, digitize and make available on the internet public and private archives, including dealer records. Public and private collections should be encouraged to publish their inventories.
  • Provenance research carried out by public or private bodies should be made publicly available on the internet.
  • “Just and fair solutions” means just and fair solutions first and foremost for the victims of the Holocaust (Shoah) and other victims of Nazi persecution and for their heirs.

To view the full report, click here.

For media inquiries, contact pr@wjro.org.il

last updated September 2025