Most American museums are not providing adequate online information about the ownership history of artworks in their collections, handicapping efforts by potential claimants to track family treasures looted in the Nazi era, the World Jewish Restitution Organization says in a new report.
Until last year, the American Alliance of Museums operated a portal on which U.S. museums had listed almost 30,000 works with Holocaust-era provenance gaps. But after managing it for 21 years, the alliance shut down the portal last year.
Today, the restitution organization said its researchers had scoured the internet and found that readily accessible online information is available for only 10,668 such works that are now listed in data sets maintained by individual museums, not a central inventory.
“We urge American museums to do more — to open their records, invest in provenance research, and ensure that Holocaust survivors and their families have the information they need to pursue justice,” said Gideon Taylor, the president of the restitution organization.
“This report highlights the urgent need to prioritize transparency, research and accountability when it comes to Holocaust-era looted art,” said Taylor, whose organization was founded to advocate the return of Jewish property in Europe.
The United States emerged as a key market for art from Europe during and after World War II — including many paintings looted by the Nazis and sold to American dealers. The restitution organization estimates that the number of artworks in U.S. museums that could have been looted by the Nazis is “well over” 100,000.
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