1109 5th Ave at 92nd St
New York, NY 10128
212.423.3200
info@thejm.org
In October of 2000, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (PCHA) agreed upon a standard procedure for presenting provenance information on Nazi-era objects to the public.
In compliance with the AAM criteria, the Jewish Museum is researching the provenance, or history of ownership for paintings and Judaica that fall within the following criteria:
This site will be updated in installments as new information is discovered and documentation and images are digitized. Currently, the information presented on this website includes paintings and Judaica with gaps in provenance as well as paintings and Judaica with complete provenance. As always, the Museum's archival collection records are open to serious researchers by appointment. For any information or queries about this Provenance Research Project list, please see Contact Information.
We hope that this material will be helpful in the identification and restitution of works of art that may have been misappropriated during the Nazi era. The Museum also welcomes any provenance related information that the users of this site may be able to provide.
As the works are identified, they are physically examined for markings that would be helpful in determining provenance. The documentation of these works are verified using the following methods:
When no signature appears on the work, primary resources are used to identify the maker. If a definitive answer is unavailable the artist/maker is referred to as “Unknown.”
Primary titles and known original language or alternate titles are listed.
Whenever possible, the execution date of the painting is taken directly from the physical work. If the date does not appear in the artist's hand on the work, the artist's life dates along with an examination of his body of work are used to determine an approximate date. An execution date determined in this manner will appear in parentheses. Example: (1946)
Physical examination determined this criteria.
Dimensions listed on this web-site refer to unframed measurements posted as height followed by width.
Owners are listed in chronological order with the earliest known owner first. The owner's name is followed by their place of residence and the date(s) of ownership are enclosed in parentheses. Example: John Doe, New York, N.Y. (1930-d.1970)
Possible owners are prefaced by a question mark. Imprecise information is enclosed in brackets. Direct transfers between owners is noted with a semi-colon. If a direct transfer did not occur or the type of transfer is unknown, the owners are separated by a period.
If you have any questions or information to provide on the listed works, please contact: provenance@thejm.org
Collections Manager
Provenance Research Project
The Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Steel
Provenance
?.Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Steel, Bridgehampton, NY (until 1985)
Date Made
20th century
Signed
Yes
Marks
None
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Bequest of Helen Kaufmann
Provenance
the artist; ?Edward Kaufmann, New York, NY; Helen Kaufmann, New York, NY (until d. 2004)
Date Made
c. 1910-20
Signed
Yes
Marks
"35", "40", "36", "45", wet stamped, on verso clockwise from top left to bottom left. "K4-" in graphite, on verso upside down bottom right "Dr E.K." [?] in graphite, on verso upper left
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Bequest of Lisl Weil Marx
Provenance
?. Elizabeth Lisl Marx (aka Lisl Weil Marx), New York; bequeathed to TJM, 2007
Date Made
c. 1895-1915
Signed
Yes
Marks
"to give to / Jewish museum / Park Ave/ Very famous / painter/ *" handwritten in ink on paper taped to verso center "2 4 1/4 32 2-" stenciled on verso right edge Label "Fine Custom / Picture Framing / and / Repairing / LEO REHFELD / 235 East 51st St. New York 22 / PLAZA 5-5887" printed on verso frame, LC
Acquisition
Gift of Eli Wilner in honor of Robert Hurst
Provenance
?. Eli Wilner, New York (purchased in Morocco; by 2000, until 2003)
Date Made
c. 1900-25
Marks
Hallmark: stamped on base and underside of clasp, star and cresent [used before 1925 in Azemmour]
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
In France sometime after 1893 (based on the dates of the import and countermarks, respectively 1893-1971 and 1835 on); acquired in 1962
Date Made
1888-early 20th century
Marks
Hallmarks: "800"; French import mark in rectangle; French countermark: zigzag with insects in between
Inscription
Verso center, handwritten in graphite, "Ziolovski(?) poraska(?) / ca(?) 1812 do 1890. / Set(?) zide(?) shop(?) dinn(?) Tugeugver(?)"
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?the artist. [Este Gallery, New York; sold to Friedman]; Dr. Harry G. Friedman (until 1958)
Date Made
1900-53
Signed
Yes
Marks
"WEINBERG" handwritten in graphite on verso, LR "2" handwritten in graphite on verso, UC "58-12" handwritten in red ink on verso, UR
Inscription
Verso of panel TR and TL in crayon: "140" Verso of panel BL handwritten in ink: "Liou"
Acquisition
Gift of Lisl Weil Marx in memory of her husband Julius Marx and his brother Rudolf Marx
Provenance
?.Julius Marx (until d.?); his wife, Lisl Weil Marx, New York, NY (until 1985)
Date Made
c. 1910
Signed
Yes
Marks
"Framed by/ LEO R...FELD/ 235 East 51st St. New York 22/ Plaza 5-5887" verso of frame, TC label in print [Possibly] "...ollam" verso of panel, center, oval stamp in ink [Too faded to read] verso of panel, BR circular stamp in ink
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Eli Gruber in memory of his mother Marianne Basch Gruber and grandparents Alfred and Lotte Basch
Provenance
Alfred and Lotte Basch, Germany, brought to the US when they escaped from the Nazis in the 1930s; their daughter Marianne Basch Gruber, New Jersey, 1970; her son Eli Gruber, New Jersey, 2001 (until 2013)
Date Made
1894
Signed
Yes
Marks
"Gruber" verso, UL in graphite "#2 (?) frame" verso, upside down, LL in graphite
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Max Fogiel
Provenance
the artist. Edward Kaufmann, New York, NY. Helen Kaufmann, New York, NY [until d. 2004]; Dr. Max Fogiel, New York, NY (2004-2010); donated to TJM
Date Made
c. 1900
Signed
Yes
Marks
"36" stamped in ink on verso, UL "28" stamped in ink on verso, UR "A. EBESEDER / WIEN / Z. OPERNRING 8" embossed on verso, Lower C Label "VERKAUFSSTELLE - DER / RAHMEN 0 U. LEISTENFABRIK / MAX WELZ / LEITUNG: ARCHIT. / FRANK UHLIG / WIEN VIL [...]/2 / NEUDEGGERGASSE / TELEPHON A-28-1-13[...]" printed in ink on verso of frame, LR "4[?]697" handwritten in graphite on verso of frame, LR "mit [...] [...]lischen" handwritten in graphite on frame verso, Lower C "4697" handwritten in graphite or crayon on frame verso, Left C "L112[?]/88" handwritten in ink on frame verso, UR Label, partially missing "2/48 on 2 / [...]ward Kaufmann / [...]20 Madison Ave. / N.Y. 17 NY / 'Yemenite Jew.'" handwritten in ink on frame verso, UR Possible engraving, illegible, on verso, vertical, to the left of A EBESEDER mark
Acquisition
Jewish Cultural Reconstruction
Provenance
?heirless object salvaged from post-Nazi Europe by the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction (JCR), the cultural arm of the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JSRO); transferred to the Jewish Museum, 1952
Date Made
1883–1907
Marks
City: "A" [in square with cut corners] = Vienna Neuwirth pl. 6:12 (1874-72) on proper left oil container 2X [Dog's head facing right]= Neuwirth pl 7:10 (1872-1922) on proper right O.C. Maker: "H.S" [in rectangular field with rounded corners; serifs] = Neuwirth no. 952 on front of crossbar
Inscription
Verso, UL in pencil: "Sharouave synagoga / dolejsek ur?455 / borejcek ur.? 1400 / jedeu r? n? ejskarsich donn? n csr" [possibly in the artist hand]
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?the artist. [Este Gallery, New York; sold to Friedman]; Dr. Harry G. Friedman (until 1958)
Date Made
1900-53
Signed
Yes
Marks
"WEINBERG" UR in pencil
Acquisition
The Rose and Benjamin Mintz Collection
Provenance
Rose and Benjamin Mintz Collection, Warsaw, 1939; travelled to New York; sold to the Jewish Museum by Rose Mintz, 1947
Date Made
early 20th century
Marks
STLI 2477 (old accession number from the Statue of Liberty National Monument)
Inscription
Lower Center [on bench back], in oil, in Hebrew: [In memory of my brother Hanoch] Lower center [on book cover], in oil, in Hebrew: [Mahzor ...]
Acquisition
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Gruss This painting may have belonged to Isser and Friedl Reifer, who fled their home in Vienna in 1938
Provenance
?.possibly Isser and Friedl Reifer, (fled Vienna 1938). Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Gruss, New York, NY (until 1955)
Date Made
1894/95
Signed
Yes
Marks
[Indecipherable] in paint on verso stretcher, CR
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Doran
Provenance
?. Mr. A. Benedict Doran, New York (until 1984)
Date Made
c. 1900
Signed
Yes
Marks
"LQ/R", impressed mark, on underside of plate Crest/"beehive" shield shape, pointed and striped, impressed mark, on underside of palte
Inscription
Hebrew: "To kindle the Hanukkah l[ight]"
Acquisition
The Rose and Benjamin Mintz Collection
Provenance
?Rose and Benjamin Mintz Collection, Warsaw, Poland; sent to the United States for consideration to be exhibited in the 1939 New York World’s Fair, but instead was exhibited in part at the Jewish Theological Seminary, 1939; sold by Rose Mintz to the Jewish Museum, 1947
Date Made
1880–1920
Marks
Maker's mark: Coat of arms inscribed "F. SUSSMAN / GORODNIZA"
Inscription
Left tacking edge, at center in crayon: "6801" Verso of frame in marker: "LC136"
Acquisition
Gift of Irene Jaffe in memory of Nadia and Benjamin Tabachinsky
Provenance
?.Nadia Tabachinsky (until death); her daughter, Irene Jaffe (until 1984)
Date Made
20th century
Signed
Yes
Marks
None
Acquisition
Purchase: Gift of Alex Schmelzer
Provenance
?. [James P. Infante, New Jersey; sold to TJM in 2005]
Date Made
c. 1900
Marks
2005-55a: Factory marsk: "OSIRIS" stamped on underside of base, UC; "600" stamped on underside of base, center; "5" stamped on underside of base, LC 2005-55b: Factory mark: "OSIRIS" stamped on undersuide of base, UC; "600" stamped on underside of base LC, stamped
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Lisl Weil Marx in memory of her husband Julius Marx and his brother Rudolf Marx
Provenance
?.Julius Marx (until d.?); his wife, Lisl Weil Marx, New York, NY (until 1985)
Date Made
c. 1901
Signed
Yes
Marks
"20 1 30 25" along top verso of panel in stencil "Malerro...ten-H...g/ von FRANZ KEHLE/ WIEN/ I (Opemring)? 21/..." verso of panel, center, stamp in ink Label "1901/ 204..." verso of panel, BL, in print Label "ED PANEL/ FRANZ KEHLE/ VI. Mariahilferstr. 1.c/ .WIEN." and "n/D7/ 52" verso of panel, BR, in print
Inscription
Verso, UL, in pencil: "?180/87?aline?eiller?"
Acquisition
Bequest of Adelaide Kauffmann
Provenance
the artist (until d. 1931); inherited by the artist's relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Mayerheim, Germany, refugees to Shanghai, China (by 1944; sold to Grosz); Prof. Armand Grosz (by 1944; sold to Kauffmann); Fritz Kauffmann, Shanghai and Fort Lee, New Jersey (until d. 1994); his wife, Adelaide Kauffman, Fort Lee, New Jersey (until d. 1999)
Date Made
1888
Signed
Yes
Marks
Label "482 / Nachlass / Lesser Ury" verso, center "#13" verso, UC, in ink
Inscription
None
Acquisition
Bequest of Lili H. Fraenkel
Provenance
one of the sitters, Heinrich Walter Fraenkel (1879-d. ?); his wife, Lili Fraenkel, née Baer, Westfield, NJ (until d. 1979)
Date Made
1880
Signed
Yes
Marks
None