More than 20 years after launching the provenance research project (PRP), where is MoMa?

After publishing demonstrably false provenances for Chagall's "Over Vitebsk", Kirchner's "Sand Hills in Engadine" and "Artillerymen in the Shower" as well as histories of questionable quality for other artworks, many Nazi-era gaps remain in 2026.

Here are just a couple examples of the kinds of questions that can be asked:

Madame Derain in Green

André Derain (French, 1880–1954.) Madame Derain in Green[Portrait de Madame Derain]. (1907) Oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 23 5/8" (73 x 60 cm) The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Given anonymously Collection work meeting criteria specified in Introduction. 143.42 Other works by this artist
Provenance in 2005: Marius de Zayas, Paris and New York. [Until 1917 or 1920] Charles Sheeler, Ridgefield, Connecticut. Purchased from de Zayas' gallery, New York, [1917 or 1920]; by 1939 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Given anonymously, 1942 Alternate titles: Woman in Green Dress, c. 1906 (Former title) Portrait d'Alice Derain

https://web.archive.org/web/20050307023617/http://www.moma.org/collection/provenance/items/143.42.html

Provenance in February 2026:

1907, André Derain.

Before December 12, 1914, Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris.

Paul Guillaume, Paris.

By 1917 - ?, Marius de Zayas, Paris and New York.

? - 1942, Charles Sheeler (1883-1965), Ridgefield, Connecticut, acquired from Marius de Zayas.

1942, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, acquired as anonymous gift.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78974

Nazi era provenance questions: From whom and when did Charles Sheeler acquire this Derain?

Why have the MoMa's provenance researchers suggested so many different acquisition dates by Sheeler (1917 or 1920, ?, 1942)

London Bridge

André Derain (French, 1880–1954.) London Bridge. (1906) Oil on canvas, 26 x 39" (66 x 99.1 cm) The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zadok Collection work meeting criteria specified in Introduction. 195.52 Other works by this artist
Provenance in 2005: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zadok, Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zadok, 1952 Alternate title: Black-Friars Bridge, London (Former title, changed in 1955) https://web.archive.org/web/20050208074445/http://www.moma.org/collection/provenance/items/195.52.html

Provenance in February 2026:

1906, André Derain.
[C. 1906, Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939), Paris]
By 1950, Sidney Janis Gallery, New York.
1950(?) - 1952, Charles (1897-1984) and Eugenia Zadok, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and New York.
1952, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, acquired as gift from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Zadok

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79103

Nazi era provenance questions: From whom and when did Sidney Janis Gallery acquire this Derain? Where was this Derain 1933-1945?

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Landscape near Cassis

André Derain (French, 1880–1954.) Landscape near Cassis. (1907) Oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 21 5/8" (46 x 54.9 cm) The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Mrs. Wendell T. Bush Fund Collection work meeting criteria specified in Introduction. 278.49 Other works by this artist
Provenance in 2005: Bernhard Köhler/Koehler (d. 1927), Berlin Kurt Feldhäusser (d. 1944), Berlin Mrs. Feldhäusser (Kurt Feldhäusser's mother), Berlin and Brooklyn. 1944 - 1949 E. Weyhe Gallery, New York (representing the Kurt Feldhäusser estate). 1949 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchased from Feldhäusser collection through the Weyhe Gallery, with Mrs. Wendell T. Bush Fund, 1949

https://web.archive.org/web/20050205171201/http://moma.org/collection/provenance/items/278.49.html

Provenance in February 2026:

1907 - ?, André Derain.
[Bernhard Koehler (1849-1927), Berlin]
[1927 - 1938, Bernhard Koehler, Jr. (1882-1964), Berlin, probably inherited from his father]
1938 - 1945, Kurt Feldhäusser (1905-1945), Berlin, probably acquired from Bernhard Koehler, Jr.
1945 - 1949, Marie L. Feldhäusser (1876-1967), Kirchberg and Brooklyn, inherited from her son Kurt Feldhäusser.
1949, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, purchased from Marie L. Feldhäusser through Weyhe Gallery, New York

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79375

Nazi era provenance questions: From whom and when did Kurt Feldhäusser (a Nazi) acquire this Derain? Why does the MoMa provenance research say "probably"?

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Otto Dix (German, 1891–1969.)

The Nun [Die Nonne]. 1914

Oil on cardboard, 27 5/8 x 20 5/8" (70.2 x 52.4 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Gertrude W. Dennis

Accession Number: 253.88

Other works by this artist

Provenance:

Location unknown as of 1959
(Irwin Lefcourt) Art Fair Galleries, New York. By November 1963
Gertrude W. and Seth Dennis, Westport, Connecticut. [By 1981] By 1988
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Gertrude W. Dennis, 1988

Alternate title:

Nuns

Nazi era provenance questions: From whom and when did Lefcourt acquire this Otto Dix?

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79284

https://web.archive.org/web/20080317023726/http://www.moma.org/collection/provenance/items/253.88.html

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Juan GrisStill Life with Flowers

1912

Credit

Bequest of Anna Erickson Levene in memory ofher husband, Dr. Phoebus Aaron Theodor Levene

Object number

Accession Number: 131.1947

MoMa ID: 78930

Provenance

Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Paris
Brenner & Coady Gallery, New York (a.k.a. Washington Square Gallery, New York ). [Likely purchased from Kahnweiler before 1914]
Private Collection, Paris. By 1929
Dr. Phoebus Aaron Theodor Levene, New York
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Bequest of Anna Erickson Levene in memory of her husband, Dr. Phoebus Aaron Theodor Levene, 1947

Nazi era provenance questions: From whom and when did Levene acquire this Juan Gris?

***

https://web.archive.org/web/20051110124830/http://moma.org/collection/provenance/items/373.61.html

Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906.) Melting Snow, Fontainebleau[Neige fondante à Fontainebleau]. (c. 1879–80) Oil on canvas, 29 x 39 5/8" (73.5 x 100.7 cm) (irregular) The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of André Meyer Collection work meeting criteria specified in Introduction. 373.61
Provenance: Victor Choquet, Paris Comte Armand Doria, Chateau d'Orrouy. Exchanged for Cézanne's La maison du pendu (1873) with Choquet Sold at auction, Vente C. A. Doria, Galerie George Petit, Paris, May 4-5, 1899, no. 45 Claude Monet (1840-1926), Giverny Michel Monet, Giverny. 1926 - April 20, 1929 Bernheim-Jeune, Paris; Paul Rosenberg, Paris; and Durand-Ruel, Paris. Purchased from M. Monet by Bernheim, Rosenberg, and Durand-Ruel, April 20, 1929 - sold April 29, 1929 Wildenstein Galleries, Paris. Purchased from above, April 29, 1929 Alfred Daber, Paris Mr. and Mrs. André Meyer, New York