The Ultimate Art Looting Network: AGENTS OF HIGH PLACED NAZIS

Declassified in 2001, the "Agents of High Placed Nazis for Looting Works of Art " Source: NARA 1518815  

AGENTS OF HIGH PLACED NAZIS FOR LOOTING WORKS OF ART

Herr Adolf WÜSTER
Herr Gustav ROCHLITZ
Dr. VOSS
Dr. Kurt MARTIN
Andreas HOFER
Dr. HABERSTOCK
Dr. LOHSE
Dr. BUCHNER
Dr. Otto FÖRSTER
Herr BAHMANN
Dr. GURLITT
Dr. MÜHLMANN
Dr. GOEPEL
Prof. HERBST
Dr. R SCHOLZ
Herr APFELSTAEDT
Emil ZAUNKELMER

From Paris
Martin FABIANI
Roger DEQUOY
Alfred DABER
César de HAUCKE
? PETRIDES
Count Avogli TROTTI



Most of these names are familiar from the Art Looting Investigation Unit Final Report and Red Flag List.  Several of these names also appear in provenances of artworks that are currently in public museums.

The ALIU singled out this "cluster" of individuals for particular attention. What was their position within the overall ALIU Red Flag Network? And how did it evolve in the aftermath of the war?

The ALIU Red Flag list presents a snapshot of the network (as they understood it) shortly before the OSS unit was dissolved. When happened next? And, in particular, after both the Munich and Wiesbaden Central Collecting Points were closed in August 1951?

Can we track the evolution of this cluster over time?

Paul Pétridès in 1946 ALIU Red Flag list

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Dequoy and Fabiani: 1946 Art Looting Investigation Unit Final Report (Red Flag List of Names)

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Dr Hans Herbst : 1946 ALIU report
(note: as for the other networks above, the relations are taken from the mentions of Herbst in the bios of other Red Flag names.) 

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Nazi art looter Karl Haberstock had many, many contacts among art dealers and galleries

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This chart shows the links between several of the names on the "Agents of High Placed Nazis for Looting of Works of Art.
When there are so many names the graph becomes harder to read.  The table has 473 rows taken from the  1946 ALIU Report/

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In future posts, we will describe how we are formatting the ALIU Red Flag list for import into Fusion Tables so that anyone can replicate (and maybe improve) the graphs. 
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transcription of names from FOLD3 document https://www.fold3.com/image/270079420

about this document:

Roberts Commission - Protection of Historical Monuments

National Archives Catalog ID: 1518815
National Archives Catalog Title: London Files, compiled 1943 - 1945
Series:London Files
Category: London File- British Element CC (Bunjes Papers, Ect.)
Date Range:1943 - 1945
Publication Title:
Records of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historical Monuments in War Areas (The Roberts Commission), 1943-1946
Content Source:
 The National Archives
Publication Number:
M1944
Content Source:
NARA
Source Publication Year:
2007
Language:
English, French, German
Country:
n/a
Footnote Job:
11-004
Footnote Publication Year:
2011
Record Group:
239
Short Description:
NARA M1944. Records of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, 1943-1946.
Roll:
0032

Declassified: April 23, 2001, Published 2007

Artworks linked to A&R Ball

Wife of a Member of the de Hondecoeter Family- NGA

How to get a picture of an art dealer's activity? 

One approach might be to assemble every mention of his or her name.
If, for example, we return to the Balls (see Disambiguating the Balls and Art Provenance Research Red Flags: Alexander Ball) and try to inventory mentions of the Ball art-dealing family in the provenances published by American museums, the result - unformatted, messy, and incomplete - might look something like this:

1. (source: Boston Museum of Fine Arts) http://dbpedia.org/page/Museum_of_Fine_Arts,_Boston

Seated monkey with snuffbox ACCESSION NUMBER 58.1190

Provenance

1958, A. R. Ball, New York; sold by Ball to the MFA for $15,000.00 (Accession Date: December 11, 1958)

https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/seated-monkey-with-snuffbox-62919

Hunting Group
German about 1760
ACCESSION NUMBER 65.2100
Provenance
By 1944, with A. & R. Ball, New York, NY; June 26, 1944, sold by A. & R. Ball to Forsyth Wickes (b.1876-d.1964), New York and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/hunting-group-261222

Figure of Hunter
German about 1750–53
ACCESSION NUMBER 65.2107
Provenance
By 1944, with A. & R. Ball, New York, NY; October 3, 1944, sold by A. & R. Ball to Forsyth Wickes (b.1876-d.1964), New York and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/figure-of-hunter-261073


Woodgatherers at the Edge of the Forest
about 1863 Claude Monet
ACCESSION NUMBER 1974.325
Provenance
Amanté, Paris [see note 1]. By 1961, A. and R. Ball, New York [see note 2]. Harold Kaplan, Boston; 1968, gift of Harold Kaplan to the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA; 1968, sold by Rose Art Museum to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 12, 1974)
NOTES:
[1] Daniel Wildenstein, "Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné," vol. 1, 1840-1881 (Paris, 1974), p. 128, cat. no. 18.
[2] John Rewald, "The History of Impressionism" (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1961), p. 97.
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/woodgatherers-at-the-edge-of-the-forest-34198

Laughing Man
Study for Le Libéral (Self-Portrait)
undated Louis-Léopold Boilly
ACCESSION NUMBER 65.2536
Provenance
Julien-Léopold (Jules) Boilly, Paris; December 14-16, 1874, Paris Hôtel des Commissaires-Priseurs, lot 101 (as "Une tête d'homme qui rit"); to A. & R. Ball Works of Art, New York; March 30, 1953, sold to Forsyth Wickes (b.1876-d.1964), New York and Newport, RI; 1965, bequest of Forsyth Wickes to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 24, 1965)
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/laughing-man-170667

There are 23 European artworks whose provenance mentions Ball at the Boston MFA. The list is too long to reproduce here. For more information, see the Boston MFA website.

2. (source: National Gallery of Art in Washington) 

http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/identifiers/nga

Sir John Frechville Ramsden [1877-1958], 6th Bart., Bulstrode, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire; (sale, Christie's, London, 11 July 1930, no. 23, as Joos van Cleve); sold 1930 to (Hermann Ball, Berlin);[1] (Schaeffer Gallery, Berlin, by 1930);[2] Adolph Caspar Miller, Washington, by 1937;[3] bequest 1952 to NGA.[1] This is known from an annotated copy of the Christie's sale catalogue in the NGA curatorial files.  Information about art dealer Hermann Ball and his firm provided by Mrs. H. S. Schaeffer.[2] Mrs. H. S. Schaeffer wrote on 6 June 1983, "It is very possible that Alex Ball [son of gallery founder Hermann] bought the paintings in London and gave them to my husband for sale, as they did not have many paintings at this time.  I know that Mr. and Mrs. Miller bought them directly from us."  Letter in NGA curatorial files.[3] Washington, Phillips Memorial Gallery, 1937, Paintings and Sculpture Owned in Washington, no. 2 (as Ambrosius Benson).

https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.42395.html

https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.42396.html

https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.42397.html

Johann Dominik Bossi, Munich; by descent to his daughter, Maria Theresia Caroline and her husband Carl Christian Friedrich Beyerlen, Stuttgart; (their sale, H. G. Gutekunst, Stuttgart, 27 March 1882); Dr. Oscar Eisenmann, Cassel; Wilhelm Lübke, Stuttgart; (Joseph Baer & Sons, Frankfurt); Dr. Hans Wendland, Lugano; (his sale, Ball & Graupe, Berlin, 24-25 April 1931, no. 103); Dr. Erich Alport, Oxford; (sold by his estate, Christie's London, 4 July 1972, no. 186); Herbert List [1903-1975], Munich (Lugt 4063); Ursula and Adolf Ratjen, Vaduz, for Wolfgang Ratjen; Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.139301.html

Johann Dominik Bossi, Munich; by descent to his daughter, Maria Theresia Caroline and her husband Carl Christian Friedrich Beyerlen, Stuttgart; (their sale, H. G. Gutekunst, Stuttgart, 27 March 1882); Dr. Oscar Eisenmann, Cassel.  Wilhelm Lübke, Stuttgart. (Joseph Baer & Sons, Frankfurt.  Dr. Hans Wendland, Lugano; (his sale, Ball & Graupe, Berlin, 24-25 April 1931, no. 103).  Dr. Erich Alport, Oxford; (sold by his estate, Christie's London, 4 July 1972, no. 186); Herbert List [1903-1975], Munich (Lugt 4063); Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.139302.html

3. (source: J. Paul Getty Museum)

about 1924 - early 1930s

Prince Ernst Heinrich von Wettin, German, 1896 - 1971 (Schloss Moritzburg, Porzellanquartier in the apartments of Frederick-Augustus II, near Dresden, Germany), sold to Alexander Ball, early 1930s.

Source: Correspondence with Gisela Haase, curator at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, January 5, 1977.

early 1930s - 1934

Alexander Ball, German (Paris, France), sold to Anna Thomson Dodge, 1934.

Source: Correspondence between Alex Ball and Henry Hawley, curator of decorative arts at the Cleveland Museum of Art, January 2, 1971, in the files of the Sculpture and Decorative Arts Department, J. Paul Getty Museum.

1934 - 1970

Anna Thomson Dodge, American, born Scotland, 1871 - 1970 (Rose Terrace, Breakfast Room, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan), upon her death, held in trust by the estate, 1970.

Source: Collectors' files: Dillman, Mrs. (Dodge), 1, ca. 1925-1933, Duveen Bros. Records, Getty Research Institute, 960015, box 442, folder 5; Correspondence between L. Alavoine and Co. and Mr. F.E. Upton, April 24, 1934, in the files of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

1970 - 1971

Estate of Anna Thomson Dodge, American, born Scotland, 1871 - 1970 [sold, The Highly Important Collection of French Furniture and Works of Art, Christie's, London, June 24, 1971, lot 102, through French and Company to the J. Paul Getty Museum.]

Source: French and Company invoice, June 28, 1971. Box 1986.IA.55-6, Folder 7, April 1971 - January 1971. J. Paul Getty Early Administrative Records, 1939, 1949-1986, undated. The Getty Research Institute (IA10003).

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/5429/bernard-ii-van-risenburgh-pair-of-commodes-french-about-1750/

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/5430/bernard-ii-van-risenburgh-commode-french-about-1750/

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/5431/bernard-ii-van-risenburgh-commode-french-about-1750/

4. (source: Getty Provenance Index Knoedler file)

36700
K-36767
10
A5919
143
20
Morisot, Berthe
MORISOT, BERTHE
French
2761
"Flowers"
SLL "Berthe Morisot"
Still Life
Painting
17 x 21 1/8
1955
01
24
1955
06
20
31000
dollars
for numbers A5919-A5921
8500
dollars
A&R Ball
Ball, (Alexander & R.), Gallery
New York, NY, USA
Sold
R. Thomas McDermott
McDermott, R. Thomas
2950 Lazy Lane, Houston, TX, USA
160
This page has an overlay. Click here to see information underneath.
http://archives.getty.edu:30008/getty_images/digitalresources/goupil/jpgs/gri_2012_m_54_b10_175.jpg


36701
K-36768
10
A5920
143
24
Pissarro, Camille
PISSARRO, CAMILLE
French
2438
"Vue de Paris"
S&D LL "C. Pissarro 1903"
Topographical views
Landscape
Painting
22 x 18 1/4
1955
01
24
1955
04
18
31000
dollars
for numbers A5919-A5921
12000
dollars
A&R Ball
Ball, (Alexander & R.), Gallery
New York, NY, USA
Sold
John C. Borden
Borden, John Chaloner
River Road, Rumson, NJ, USA
146
This page has an overlay. Click here to see information underneath.
http://archives.getty.edu:30008/getty_images/digitalresources/goupil/jpgs/gri_2012_m_54_b10_175.jpg
36702
K-36769
10
A5921
143
28
Monet, Claude
MONET, CLAUDE
French
1653
"La Seine a chatou"
SLR "Claude Monet"
Landscape
Painting
29 x 21 1/2
1955
01
24
1957
10
18
31000
dollars
for numbers A5919-A5921
A&R Ball
Ball, (Alexander & R.), Gallery
New York, NY, USA
Exchanged
A&R Ball
Ball, (Alexander & R.), Gallery
New York, NY, USA
We exchanged this with A&R Ball for WCA2068 Degas-A6804 Monet plus $50.000-.
This page has an overlay. Click here to see information underneath.
http://archives.getty.edu:30008/getty_images/digitalresources/goupil/jpgs/gri_2012_m_54_b10_175.jpg

35493
K-35538
10
A6804
208
3
Monet, Claude
MONET, CLAUDE
French
1653
Landscape near Giverny
Landscape
Painting
1957
10
18
1958
01
00
23000
dollars
32500
dollars
A & R Ball
30 West 54th St.
Ball, (Alexander & R.), Gallery
New York, NY, USA
Sold
Mrs Norman Woolworth
Woolworth, Pauline E.
515 Madison Ave., New York, NY, USA
369
[sale dates] Jan 1958 (2/6/57) CHM Cards 10/24/57

Click here to see recto of insert.
http://archives.getty.edu:30008/getty_images/digitalresources/goupil/jpgs/gri_2012_m_54_b10_243.jpg

****

Ultimately, if one gathers all the mentions of the art dealer in one place, it might be possible to gain a global view of his or her contributions to the cultural heritage of a country.

Relationships and events involving institutions and a dealer could be codified according to an accepted standard, such as CIDOC-CRM or LINKEDART, building on the efforts by digital humanities experts thus far.

As for URIs, they exist for museums and most art dealers, but it is not clear how to codify the thousands of artworks themselves. If a URI does not exist, can one simply use the URL? How?

What is the view of linked open data experts?

Statistics on Women Art Dealers in Wikidata, Viaf, LCCN, DNB and ULAN

Art Market Authority Files: Where are the Women?

How are Women Art Dealers represented in authority files?

To try to answer this question, we looked at a Wikidata Query for Women Art Dealers:

RESULTS:

• As of May 16, 2018, 124 female art dealers were referenced in Wikidata with information about their gender (female) and their occupation (art dealer)
• Of these 124, WIKIDATA had the VIAF ID for 59, the Library of Congress IDs for 40, the GND IDs for 36 and the spouses for 20. Only 13, or about 10%, had ULAN IDs in Wikidata.

You can consult the listing in a shared Google Doc here.

Link to the Women Art Dealers Wikidata Query Results here.

It would be interesting to compare Lists of Women Art Dealers resulting from Queries in VIAF, LCCN, GND and ULAN to see if the problem stems from a lack of Authority information in WIKIDATA (the ID exists but has not been added to the Wikidata entity) or simply a lack of information about Women Art Dealers in crucial authorities.

Red Flags in #Arthistory: Kleinberger

A search on Kleinberger in the German Historical Museum Linz Database returns five paintings

The name "Kleinberger" appears fourteen times in the French MNR database, five times in the German Historical Museum Linz Database and three times in the Art Looting Investigation Red Flag List of Names, along with "Loebl" (14 times) and "Garin" (6 times)

Art Dealers and Art Historians: Authorities Identifiers by the Numbers

Linked Open Data queries need authoritative identifiers to work across platforms.

QUESTION: Which are the most used identifiers for art dealers, art historians, art dealers and art collectors who exist in Wikidata?

Below are Wikidata Sparql Queries that show the authorities that are most used for referencing art dealers and art historians in Wikidata.

(VIAF wins hands down.) 

ART DEALERS : VIAF, LCCN, RKD...




ART HISTORIANS





ART COLLECTORS











Wikidata Query for Most Used Identifiers for Art Dealers

SELECT ?propertyLabel ?propertyDescription ?count WHERE {
{
SELECT ?propertyclaim (COUNT(*) AS ?count) WHERE {
?item wdt:P106 wd:Q173950.
?item wdt:P31 wd:Q5.
?item ?propertyclaim _:b2.
}
GROUP BY ?propertyclaim
}
?property wikibase:propertyType wikibase:ExternalId.
?property wdt:P31 wd:Q19595382.
?property wikibase:claim ?propertyclaim.
SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
ORDER BY DESC(?count)
LIMIT 100

Women Art Dealers in Wikidata

Wikidata Query for Women Art Dealers