Past Event

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Provenance Research: Where Scholarship Meets Diligence

Provenance -- the history of ownership -- is important for verifying the attribution/authenticity of an artwork and also for determining legal title in the case of ownership and restitution disputes. Please join us as six distinguished speakers address provenance from a variety of vantage points, including catalogues raisonnés, scientific evidence, digital resources, and the law. The program is timed to coincide with the U.S. launch of the book Provenance Research Today, edited by Arthur Tompkins and co-published by Lund Humphries and IFAR. Three of the speakers contributed to the book.


Lynn H. Nicholas, author of the pioneering book on the subject of WWII-era art looting, will provide an overview and historical perspective regarding Nazi-era provenance research. Marc Masurovsky will focus on digital resources and a new initiative to create a comprehensive, holistic database of looted objects. Thomas R. Kline, Esq. will address legal issues surrounding provenance. Dr. Jennifer Mass will explore scientific means of verifying provenance, in a talk titled: "The Physical Evidence of Provenance: From Faux Dead Sea Scrolls to a Proto-Fascist Painting Attack." Dr. Lisa Duffy-Zeballos will discuss catalogues raisonnés as aids to provenance research, and Dr. Sharon Flescher will address some of the challenges in provenance research. The program will conclude with Q&A and discussion.

NB. For a limited time, we are pleased to offer program registrants a 30% discount off the purchase price of Provenance Research Today: Principles, Practice, Problems. Details about ordering will be sent in the confirmation email after registration.

IFAR gratefully acknowledges for its help in supporting this program.

NOTE: Registration for this program was handled by Eventbrite.

Event Speaker(s)

Lynn H. Nicholas

Author, The Rape of Europa

Marc Masurovsky
Co-founder, Holocaust Art Restitution Project (HARP); Academic Director, Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project (JDCRP)

Thomas R. Kline
Partner, Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC

Jennifer Mass
President, Scientific Analysis of Fine Art, LLC; Mellon Professor, Bard Graduate Center

Lisa Duffy-Zeballos
Art Research Director, IFAR

Sharon Flescher
Executive Director, IFAR