Provenance Guide

IFAR's Provenance Guide


The ownership history of a work of art is of fundamental importance for all those involved in the collecting, exhibiting and study of art, for determining both attribution as well as legal title. Ownership claims by heirs of Holocaust victims whose art works were looted or otherwise misappropriated during the Nazi-era, and also claims by foreign “source” countries for antiquities and objects of cultural heritage they believe were exported in violation of patrimony or export laws, underscore the importance of provenance today. The attached Guide serves as a primer for conducting provenance research. 

IFAR’s Provenance Guide