Benno Geiger in Provenances of Artworks Auctioned at Christies or Sothebys

 The panelists at the conference on Nazi-looted art in Italy that just took place in Venice offered many interesting insights. One of the topics that came up was the art dealer Benno Geiger, a known dealer of Nazi looted art, in a presentation by researcher Katharina Hüls-Valenti.

Geiger has been a subject of interest to us for a while. (See: "Geiger" artworks currently in American or British museums)

In this post, we look at a few of the artworks that have been auctioned at Christies or Sothebys that have some link to Benno Geiger, either in the provenance (an obvious red flag that calls for in depth verification) or in the references.  Why references? Because Nazi art looters like Benno Geiger have been known to lie about ownership histories.

Warning: given Geiger's involvement in the art market for Nazi-looted artworks and forced sales, there is no guarantee that the provenances are correct or complete. Sometimes, however, bringing the texts together in one place can make it easier to see the patterns that remain hidden when one studies each artwork individually.

Artworks linked to Benno Geiger that have been auctioned at Christies or Sothebys

Looted antiquities and false provenances

Looted Art Newsflash 26 May 2022 Former Louvre Director Jean-Luc Martinez Has Been Charged With Money Laundering Over Ties to Alleged Antiquities Trafficking Ring Jo Lawson-Tancred Artnet News

Looted Art Newsflash 25 May 2022 Jean-Luc Martinez, ancien patron du Louvre, mis en examen dans une affaire de trafic d’antiquités Il est soupçonné de blanchiment et complicité d’escroquerie en bande organisée. En cause, une stèle gravée au nom de Toutânkhamon exposée au Louvre Abu Dhabi, qui pourrait avoir été pillée. Par Roxana Azimi Le Monde

German Museums that do NOT publish Nazi-era provenance online as of March 23 2022

According to our tests, the following German museums are rated "F" (FAIL) for transparency concerning the ownership history of artworks in the Nazi-period 1933-1945.

This means that a visitor to the museum's online collections website cannot see where a painting was or who owned it during the Nazi period.

(Please help us to update this list as museum websites evolve.)

• Neue Pinakothek in Munich

There is a field "Herkunft". However it does not give the ownership history. It only states who sold, gave or loaned it to the museum. There is no link to or mention of Lostart, Linz or Munich Collecting point information. 

• Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen

There is no ownership history. There is no link to or mention of Lostart, Linz or Munich Collecting point information. 

 

• Lenbachhaus

There is a field "Zugang". However it does not give the ownership history. It only states who sold, gave or loaned it to the museum.  There is no link to or mention of Lostart, Linz or Munich Collecting point information. 

WALLRAF-RICHARTZ-MUSEUM & FONDATION CORBOUD

No real online collections database, no provenance on the Wallraf-Richartz website - not even for iconic works like Asparagus (about whose Nazi-era provenance artist Hans Haacke famously did an entire exhibition). To find information about the history of artworks one must go to LostArt.de or plunge into Immunity from Seizure documents. And yet, provenance research projects have been announced with great fanfare. But whatever the results are, they do not appear to be on the website.

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DATASET: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Provenance Research Project

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts maintains an "up-to-date register of all works with incomplete provenance records for the years 1933 to 1945" in order to facilitate provenance research.

We have put the information into an easy to use file for digital analysis.

VIEW MBAM artworks with incomplete provenances 1933-1945 HERE.

DOWNLOAD CSV HERE.

Artworks whose provenance records are incomplete for the years 1933 to 1945.

Getty Provenance Index Utrillo

 Records from the Getty Provenance Index for the artist Maurice UTRILLO