Sep 17, 2019

Provenance in the Art Museum: Oberlin Allen Memorial Art Museum

The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) has published thirty artworks on the Nazi Era Provenance Internet Portal (NEPIP).

In this post, we see what we can learn about the history of these artworks using modern digital art history tools.


On NEPIP, users are directed to AMAM's Nazi-era provenance page for more information:
http://www2.oberlin.edu/amam/provenance.html

The provenance page describes Nazi looting and offers a bio of  Charles P. Parkhurst (OC ’38), director of the AMAM from 1949-62 and "'Monuments Men' responsible for restoring art displaced during the 1933-45 period to its rightful owners",

A little lower down is a link to a list
http://www2.oberlin.edu/amam/AMAMProvenanceList.htm

AMAM Provenance List
European paintings in the AMAM collection with incomplete provenance and/or changes in ownership in Europe for the period 1933-1945.

The list contains thirty items and looks like this:


Apollonio di Giovanni*Battle Between the Athenians and the Persians*1943.239
Paul Cézanne*Viaduct at l’Estaque*1950.3
Antoine Coypel*The Finding of Moses*1978.2
Henri-Edmond Cross*The Return of the Fisherman* (*Le Pêcheur Provençal*)1953.271
Giorgio de Chirico*Self-Portrait*1938.1
Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri)*Landscape with Flight into Egypt*1968.51
Emile Auguste Carolus-Duran*Portrait of Philippe Burty*1994.9
Giovanni Battista Gaulli*Death of Adonis*1966.2
Jan van Goyen*Landscape with Dunes*1941.76
Italian (Florentine) 14th century*Crucifix*1942.129
Alexej von Jawlensky*Head of a Woman*1955.23
Jacob Jordaens*An Oracle*1964.35
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner*Self-Portrait as a Soldier*1950.29
Paul Klee*The Kettledrum Organ*1944.21
Gustav Klimt*Portrait of a Lady*1958.157
Jacopo Ligozzi*Portable Altar in a Carrying Case*1958.1
Mariotto di Nardo*Adoration of the Magi*1943.118
Master of the Sterzing Altarpiece*Saint Mary Magdalene*1941.75
Pier Francesco Mola*Mercury Putting Argus to Sleep*1961.85
Claude Monet*Wisteria*1960.5
Jean-Baptiste Oudry*A Young Rabbit and Partridge Hung by the Feet*1982.47
Pablo Picasso*Glass of Absinthe*1947.36
Jusepe de Ribera*Blind Old Beggar*1955.9
Peter Paul Rubens*The Finding of Erichthonius*1944.96
Jan Steen*Merry Company*1957.14
Vrancke van der Stockt*Kneeling Donor with Saint John the Baptist*1942.128
David Teniers the Younger*Saints Anthony and Paul in a Landscape*1973.9
Esaias van de Velde*Summer Landscape*1958.42
Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne*Allegory of Poverty*1960.94
Adriaen van der Werff and Henrik van Limborch*Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph*1963.3

The provenance is not included in the list, but one can look it up on the AMAM public website:

Adding the provenance, the table of European paintings in the AMAM collection with incomplete provenance and/or changes in ownership in Europe for the period 1933-1945 looks like this:


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Apollonio di GiovanniBattle Between the Athenians and the Persians1943.239With Paul Drey Gallery, New York, from whom purchased in 1943.
Paul CézanneViaduct at l’Estaque1950.3Edward Molyneux [1891–1974] Paris and Monte Carlo, by 1939
Antoine CoypelThe Finding of Moses1978.2European private collection With Heim Gallery, London (by 1977), from whom purchased in 1978.
Henri-Edmond CrossThe Return of the Fisherman(Le Pêcheur Provençal)1953.271Deposited by the artist at Galerie Druet, Paris

Sale Atelier H. E. Cross, Paris (Hotel Drouot), 28 October 1921, lot 30

Collection Maximilien Luce (1858-1941), Paris

Collection Frédéric Luce, Paris

With Wildenstein Galleries, New York, from whom purchased in 1953.
Giorgio de ChiricoSelf-Portrait1938.1Purchased from Theodore Schempp, New York, in 1938.
Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri)Landscape with Flight into Egypt1968.51Collection H. Pearson, Datchett, Windsor

Possibly sale Gen. Thiebaut, London (Christie's), 13 June 1817, lot 61 (£77.14, to Gray)

Possibly sale London (Christie's), 1 May 1830 (as ÒA small Landscape, with the Flight into Egypt, with classical Buildings in the distanceÓ)

With Ferdinando Peretti, London, from whom purchased in 1968
Emile Auguste Carolus-DuranPortrait of Philippe Burty1994.9Probably by descent to the daughter of the sitter, Madeleine Haviland, née Burty

Collection Mme. Maric-Haviland, Paris

With Shepherd Gallery, New York (1983)

Sale New York (Christie's), 1 March 1990, lot 19

With Christopher J. Robinson, New York, from whom acquired in 1994.
Giovanni Battista GaulliDeath of Adonis1966.2With Leger Galleries, London (1953-54)

With Giovanni Salocci, Florence (1956-57)

Private collection, New York (by 1962)

With Gualteiro Volterra, Florence, from whom purchased in 1966.
Jan van GoyenLandscape with Dunes1941.76Collection Dr. Johan Focke, Bremen (as cited in 1928 sales catalogue, below)

Collection Fraulein M. Focke, Bremen (by 1904)

Sale Amsterdam (F. Muller), 12 December 1922, lot 159 ($1500)

Collection Mrs. A. Rowe, New York

Sale New York (American Art Association), 26 April 1928, lot 79, ill. ($1275)

With Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam (1928, acquired by them in London)

With M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., London and New York (1929-30)

With E. J. van Wisselingh, Amsterdam (1932)

Collection Kuenxe Graef? (noted by Knoedler, 1941)

With M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., New York, from whom purchased in 1941.
Italian (Florentine) 14th centuryCrucifix1942.129Graf Wilczek, Castle Kreuzenstein near Vienna

With E. A. Silberman Galleries in New York (1936), from whom purchased in 1942.
Alexej von JawlenskyHead of a Woman1955.23Collection Fernand Graindorge, Liège (1954)

With Theodore Schempp, New York, from whom purchased in 1955.
Jacob JordaensAn Oracle1964.35Possibly identical with Òde Offerande,Ó listed among the modelli or designs for tapestries in the inventory of the collection of the tapestry merchant Michiel Wauters, Antwerp, 16 October 1679

Colletion Arthur Holford, London

Sale London (ChristieÕs), 29 November 1963, lot 72 (£1470)

With Frederick Mont, Inc., New York, from whom purchased in 1964.
Ernst Ludwig KirchnerSelf-Portrait as a Soldier1950.29Städtische Galerie, Dresden (1916-19)

With Kunsthandlung Schames, Frankfurt (1919)

Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt (1919)

On loan to the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt (inv. S.G. 299 in 1919 inventory book and 1924 catalogue) until 1937

Confiscated by the National Socialists and removed to a Berlin warehouse in 1937 (inv. 15999)

Collection Dr. Kurt Feldhausser (1943-45)

Collection Mrs. Marie-Louise Feldhausser, his mother (1945-?)

Sold to Gallery E. Weyhe, New York, from whom purchased in 1950.
Paul KleeThe Kettledrum Organ1944.21Purchased by the Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Dessau, in February 1931, for 2000 RM

Confiscated by the National Socialists, 1937 (inv. 10922)

Purchased by Karl Buchholz in Berlin, 18 February 1939, for $120

With Buchholz Galleries, New York, from whom purchased in 1944.
Gustav KlimtPortrait of a Lady1958.157Private collection, Vienna

With Galerie St. Etienne, New York (1950), from whom purchased in July 1958.
Jacopo LigozziPortable Altar in a Carrying Case1958.1Collection Bauer, Vienna

With F. Kleinberger & Co., New York, from whom purchased in 1958.
Mariotto di NardoAdoration of the Magi1943.118Collection Marchese Franzoni, Genoa

With N. Acquavella, New York (by 1940) from whom purchased in 1943.
Master of the Sterzing AltarpieceSaint Mary Magdalene1941.75Collection Armando Sabatello, Rome

With Ars Antiqua, New York

Collection Samuel H. Kress, New York (1950)

Given to the museum in 1961.
Pier Francesco MolaMercury Putting Argus to Sleep1961.85Collection Armando Sabatello, Rome

With Ars Antiqua, New York

Collection Samuel H. Kress, New York (1950)

Given to the museum in 1961.
Claude MonetWisteria1960.5Collection Michel Monet, Giverny

Collection Katia Granoff, Paris

With Paul Rosenberg and Company, New York, from whom purchased in 1960.
Jean-Baptiste OudryA Young Rabbit and Partridge Hung by the Feet1982.47With Paul Cailleux, Paris (1932)

With Bensimon, Inc., New York

Collection Mr. and Mrs. André Meyer (by 1962)

Sale Meyer, New York (Sotheby's), 22 October 1980, lot 10

With H. Schickman Gallery, New York, from whom purchased in 1982.
Pablo PicassoGlass of Absinthe1947.36Collection Ambroise Vollard, Paris

With Galerie Pierre, Paris

Collection Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., New York (1937-44)

Sale New York (Parke-Bernet), 11 April 1946, lot 29

Collection Theodore Schempp, New York (1946-47), from whom purchased in 1947
Jusepe de RiberaBlind Old Beggar1955.9Collection Dr. Carvalho, Château de Villandry, France (1927)

Sale Tours, 19 November 1953, lot 76

With Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York, from whom purchased in 1955
Peter Paul RubensThe Finding of Erichthonius1944.96Collection Duc de Richelieu, 1671

Sale Morel, Paris, 19 April 1786 (held 3 May 1786), lot 34 (ÒUne jardinière accroupie et appuyée sur le couvercle dÕun panier rempli de fleurs. Elle est vêtue dÕun corsage et dÕune jupe de satin jaune . . . 42 x 38 pouces; 301 livres, to Vicomte de ChamgrandÓ)

Sale de Proly, Chamgrand et al., Paris (Paillet), 20 March 1787, lot 30 (723 livres, to Marichale le Bois)

Collection R. A. C. Goodwin-Austen

Sale George Smith, John Tobin et al., London (Christie's), 27 May 1882, lot 98 (erroneously as from the Orléans Gallery; £157.10 to Lesser)

Collection Archibald Coats, Woodside, Paisley

His sale, London (Christie's), 3 July 1914, lot 126 (as ÒFloraÓ and formerly in the Orlean collection; £75.2 to Collings)

Unidentified sale, London, 1939

With A. F. Mondschein, New York, from whom purchased in 1944.
Jan SteenMerry Company1957.14Collection Dukes of Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (possibly acquired by Herzog [Duke] Ernst II von Sachsen [1745-1804], later Dukes of Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha

Herzogliches Gemäldegalerie, Gotha (inv. 257)

Collection of Helmhold Hoffman, Germany

With G. Cramer Oude Kunst, The Hague, from whom purchased in 1957.
Vrancke van der StocktKneeling Donor with Saint John the Baptist1942.128Collection H. Oppenheimer, London

His sale, London, 24 July 1936, lot 6 (as by Aelbert Bouts)

Art market, Vienna (1937)

With E. and A. Silberman Galleries, New York, from whom purchased in 1942.
David Teniers the YoungerSaints Anthony and Paul in a Landscape1973.9Private collection, France

Collection Herman Göring

Munich, Collecting Point (1946), no. 5887

French Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Paris (for restitution)

With Heim Gairac Gallery, Paris

With David M. Koetser Gallery, Zurich, from whom purchased in 1973.
Esaias van de VeldeSummer Landscape1958.42Collection van Diemen, Amsterdam

Collection Anna Maria van Diemen (later [from 1675] wife of Gerolamo Paressi)

By descent to Marchese Raffaello Mansi Orsetti, Lucca (1928)

Purchased in Spain by Frederick Mont, Inc., New York (in association with Newhouse Gallery, New York), from whom purchased in 1958
Adriaen Pietersz van de VenneAllegory of Poverty1960.94Collection Dukes of Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (possibly acquired by Herzog [Duke] Ernst II von Sachsen [1745-1804]), later Dukes of Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha

Herzogliches Gemäldegalerie, Gotha (inv. 228)

With Hans Cramer Oude Kunst, The Hague, from whom purchased in 1960.
Adriaen van der Werff and Henrik van LimborchJacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph1963.30Sale Hoogeveen et al., Amsterdam (Van der Linden & De Winter), 5 June 1765, lot 5 (_560, to de Winter; with pendant, lot 6)

Possibly offered for sale by Mettra, Paris (1767) for 10,530 livres, with pendant

Bildergalerie, Sanssouci, Potsdam (by 1770), with pendant

Königliche Museum (later the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum), Berlin (c. 1837-1906), with pendant

Returned to the private collection of the Princes of Hohenzollern (1906-1925), with pendant

Private collection, London

Purchased sale London (Christie's), 24 May 1963, lot 152.


The above thirty artworks represent only a tiny fraction of the over 14,000 works of art in the Oberlin Allen Memorial Art Museum's collection, but they are particularly important because they are the artworks that the museum curators have singled out for further research due to gaps in their provenance.

Which names of art dealers and art collectors appear in the provenance of these artworks?
We will apply some entity recognition and digital documents analysis tools to gain a better understanding.

First, we'll extract the names of the people using the demo of an online tool called Textrazor.
Textrazor tries to identify people, organizations and places. It's not always correct, but it's surprisingly good. Here is the TextRazor list (as is with no corrections)



What is known about these names? Are any of the people known to have been involved in the Nazi-era art trade? Were any of them arrested or investigated for their activities? Were any of them Jewish victims of the Holocaust? Have any of them been involved in restitution claims in the past? These are the kinds of questions one might ask to understand the context in which they appear.

One of the name, we see, is Paul Cailleux, the art dealer we have been studying in previous posts.

To be continued....







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