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About
Methodology
List of Works

Nazi-Era Provenance Research Project

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:

Acquired after 1932
Created before 1946
Which may have changed hands between 1932–1946
Which may have been in continental Europe during those years

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.

Online Resource Directory

Methodology

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:

Artist / Maker

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.”

Title

Primary titles and known original language or alternate titles are listed.

Execution Date

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)

Medium

Physical examination determined this criteria.

Dimensions

Dimensions listed on this web-site refer to unframed measurements posted as height followed by width.

How to Read Provenance Information

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.

Questions & More information

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

Nazi-Era Provenance List of Works

William Thompson Bartoll

Unknown Sitter (previously titled A Jewish Gentleman)

Oil on canvas

26 1/4 × 23 1/4 in. (66.7 × 59.1 cm)

F 4013

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?.Dr. Harry G. Friedman, New York, NY (about 1965)
Date Made
1833
Signed
Yes
Marks
"'65-221" BB UR in red ink; "BARTOLL" verso frame UL in chalk; "1894" verso Frame UL in pencil; "a/ J__t(?) Cha____ne" verso frame LC in pencil; "regild Sept 179(?)" verso frame LL in pencil

Josef Ruhmann

Hanukkah Lamp

Silver: die-stamped and pierced

4 1/8 × 7 7/8 × 1 5/8 in. (10.5 × 20 × 4.1 cm)

M 384

On View
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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
1826
Marks
Hallmark: "F" above circle with "13" inside, with "1826" on either side within dome-shaped field on front leg proper left stamped (Rohrwasser, Alfred. ÖSTERREICHS PUNZEN: EDELMETALL-PUNZIERUNG IN ÖSTERREICH VON 1524 BIS 1987. 2nd ed. Perchtoldsdorf, Austria: Verlag Johann L. Bondi und Sohn, 1987, p.13.) Maker's mark: Cursive "JR" in oval on front leg proper right stamped. Consistent with maker's mark for Josef Ruhmann. [See image in Media tab]

Gotthelf Leberecht Glaeser

Portrait of Gottfried Reiss

Oil on canvas

20 7/8 × 17 3/4 in. (53 × 45.1 cm)

2002-18

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Steven Waldeck
Provenance
the sitter, Gottfried Reiss. his great-nephew, Otto Schwarzschild, Wuppertal, Germany (at least by 1951); his wife, Hilde Molineus, Wuppertal, Germany (by 1983, but also in her possession during the War); her cousin's son through marriage, Tom Waldeck, Chappaqua, NY (by January, 1983); his son, Steven Waldeck, Aspen, CO (until 2002)
Date Made
c. 1830
Signed
Yes
Marks
None

Gerardus Boyce

Kiddush Cup

Silver: chased and punched

4 1/2 × 3 1/8 in. (11.4 × 7.9 cm)

F 3976

Not On View
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Inscription
Engraved on front facet, center, in Hebrew: "In honor of Sabbath" Engraved on back facet, center, in Hebrew: "Who creates the fruit of the vine" [from the blessing over wine]
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?. Dr. Harry G. Friedman, until 1955
Date Made
1820-57
Marks
Maker's mark: "G.Boyce" in rectangular field with rounded corners on base, underside, center; "N.York" in rectangular field stamped on underside of base

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Joseph's Brothers Bring His Coat to Jacob

Oil on canvas

19 11/16 × 24 1/8 in. (50 × 61.3 cm)

1991-108

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Phyllis and Leonard Greenberg
Provenance
?.?F.E. Sander (by 1898). Phyllis and Leonard Greenberg, Boynton Beach, Fla. (until 1991)
Date Made
1811
Signed
Yes
Marks
"C.W. Echersberg Sign E Paris 1811 Hannover No. 100 Atbildet Side 53" verso frame LC in pencil

Unknown Artist/Maker

Bernard Hart

Oil on canvas

27 3/16 × 22 1/4 in. (69.1 × 56.5 cm)

JM 5-76

Not On View
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Inscription
Verso of frame TC, in crayon: "(6)" Verso of backing board TL in marker: "'76-02"
Acquisition
Gift of Florence Hart
Provenance
?. Florence Hart, New York, NY (until 1976)
Date Made
c. 1840
Signed
Yes
Marks
Label "Mr Bernard Hart/My Paternal/Grandfather" verso of frame BL Label " 54 East Th.../(Three doors..." [inverted] verso of frame BC Label "The Jewish Museum/L 15-52/(1)" verso of frame TR Label "L / 15-52/1" verso of frame TC Label "...HOMAS A. ... / LOOKING / AND / Picture-Frame / Manufactur... / 54 East Thirteenth Street, /(Three doors west of Broadway.)" verso of frame TC

François-Joseph Heim

Study for Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans

Oil on canvas

13 5/8 × 16 3/8 in. (34.5 × 41.5 cm)

JM 64-62

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Museum purchase
Provenance
?. Chase Viele, Buffalo, NY (until 1963)
Date Made
1824
Signed
Yes
Marks
Label "The Jewish Museum / JM 64-62 / Scene from the Jewish War / F.J. Heim II EE4" verso, TL of backing board Label "Dahesh Museum/ 601 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10017 TEL 212-759-0606 / LENDER: The Jewish Museum / François-Joseph Heim/ Study for Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, 1824 / Oil on canvas, 12 x 14 3/4 inches (30.5 x 37.5cm) / JM 64-62 / Telling Tales II: Religious Images in 19th-Century / Academic Art, October 15, 2000-January 26, 2002" verso, TR of backing board Correspondence from the vendor, November 5, 1962, states: "The stretcher and reverse side of the canvas contain no identifying markings other than fragments of a sticker of a French art dealer."

Gotthelf Leberecht Glaeser

Portrait of Adelheid Reiss Reiss

Oil on canvas

21 × 17 7/8 in. (53.3 × 45.4 cm)

2001-77

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Monica Waldeck Stone
Provenance
the sitter, Adelheid Reiss. her grandson, Otto Schwarzschild, Wuppertal, Germany (at least by 1951); his wife, Hilde Molineus, Wuppertal, Germany (by 1983, in her possession during the War); her cousin's son through marriage, Tom Waldeck, Chappaqua, NY (by January, 1983); his daughter, Monica Waldeck Stone, Studio City, CA (until 2001)
Date Made
c. 1830
Signed
Yes
Marks
None

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

A Father Telling a Parable to His Children

Oil on paper

4 13/16 × 5 5/8 in. (12.2 × 14.2 cm)

1981-299

Not On View
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Inscription
Verso, along bottom edge of sheet German script [penmanship is difficult to read]
Acquisition
Gift of Georges E. Seligmann
Provenance
?. Georges E. Seligman, New York, NY (until 1981)
Date Made
c. 1825
Signed
Yes
Marks
"241" verso, on backing board in red pencil

Ezra Ames

Grace Mendes Seixas

Oil on canvas

25 3/4 × 21 7/8 in. (65.4 × 55.6 cm)

F 4110

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?.Dr. Harry G. Friedman, New York, NY (until 1956)
Date Made
c. 1820
Signed
Yes
Marks
"55" verso canvas LR in red ink "AMES" verso frame CL in chalk "'56-42 [crossed out]" BB UR red ink "1979-8.4?" BB LC in ink "M(?)" [crossed out] BB LR in red ink Label "Grace M. Seixas / 1789-1826 / Ezra Ames Pinxit / New York" from the back of the old canvas lining, removed 1975

Unknown Artist/Maker

Portrait of Louisa Bernard Levy

Oil on canvas

29 3/4 × 24 7/8 in. (75.6 × 63.2 cm)

JM 36-56

Not On View
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Inscription
Verso, top stretcher imprint left in wood: "Mrs. .../176 ... 8 7" Verso of frame in red marker: "'56-43"
Acquisition
Gift of George S. Gans
Provenance
?. George S. Gans, great-grandson of the sitter, New York, NY (until 1956)
Date Made
c. 1840
Signed
Yes
Marks
"PREPARED/BY/ED WD DECHAUN/ NEW YORK" verso, TR on canvas inverted stamp Label "BE(E)NORD / ART GALLERIES / LEO K...N... / Artistic Framing / Corner / 87 th STREET / PHONE / SCHUYLER 9777 / 556 AMSTERDAM AVE. NEW YORK" verso, BC on stretcher

Gotthelf Leberecht Glaeser

Portrait of Elizabeth Reiss Schwarzschild

Oil on canvas

21 × 17 3/4 in. (53.3 × 45.1 cm)

2004-54

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Tom Waldeck
Provenance
the sitter, Elizabeth Reiss Schwarzschild. her grandson, Otto Schwarzschild, Wuppertal, Germany (at least by 1951); his wife, Hilde Molineus, Wuppertal, Germany (by 1983, but also in her possession during the War); her cousin's son through marriage, Tom Waldeck, Chappaqua, NY (by January, 1983 until 2004)
Date Made
c. 1830
Signed
Yes
Marks
None

Gotthelf Leberecht Glaeser

Portrait of Herz Elias Reiss

Oil on canvas

20 7/8 × 17 5/8 in. (53 × 44.8 cm)

2001-76

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Steven Waldeck
Provenance
the sitter, Herz Elias Reiss. his great-grandson, Otto Schwarzschild, Wuppertal, Germany (at least by 1951); his wife, Hilde Molineus, Wuppertal, Germany (by 1983, in her possession during the War); her cousin's son through marriage, Tom Waldeck, Chappaqua, NY (by January, 1983); his son, Steven Waldeck, Aspen, CO (until 2001)
Date Made
c. 1830
Signed
Yes
Marks
None

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

Self-Portrait

Oil on canvas

38 11/16 × 32 7/8 in. (98.3 × 83.5 cm)

2008-137

On View
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Inscription
[Painting was re-stretched/relined, canvas verso no longer visible]
Acquisition
Purchase: Gift of an anonymous donor in memory of Curtis Hereld; Esther Leah Ritz Bequest; Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Jaffin, by exchange; and Abraham Aaroni and Ruth Taub Bequests
Provenance
the artist. Henry Oppenheim (artist's nephew), Germany, by 1870; Henny Bachman (Henry's daughter), by 1940s; Kate and Max Stern, New York (Henny's daughter and son-in-law), before 1953; sold by Max to Fred Levy (Kate Stern's cousin), late 1960s, after her death; Stuart Levy (Fred's son); sold to TJM, 2008
Date Made
1814–16
Signed
Yes
Marks
Metal label "I.C.A. SPRING STRETCHERS / OBEERLIN, OHIO 44074" printed and affixed upside down on verso stretcher frame, UC

Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin

Portrait of Samson Levy, Jr.

Black crayon and white chalk on paper

19 × 15 in. (48.3 × 38.1 cm)

1993-104

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Purchase: The Joshua Lowenfish and Rictavia Schiff Bequests
Provenance
?; Mrs. Robert Hale Bancroft (descendant of the Levy family), Boston, MA, by 1969; sold to private collector, Newton, MA; sold to the Jewish Museum 1993
Date Made
1802
Signed
Yes
Marks
Label "MHS 32" [Maryland Historical Society/Loan number] cat. 18 / Exhibition: Facing the New World / Title: Samson Levy, Jr. / Artist: Saint-Memin / Lender: The Jewish Museum, verso, UL

Eduard Friedrich Leybold

Portrait of Sam Ehrenstamm

Oil on canvas

37 5/16 × 29 1/8 in. (94.8 × 74 cm)

F 4211

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman
Provenance
?the sitter, Sam Ehrenstamm, or sitter's family, Vienna, Austria (1830-?). ?Mordecai Emmanuel Noah, New York, NY (until d. 1851). [Rockman Prints, New York, NY]; Dr. Harry G. Friedman, New York, NY (until 1956)
Date Made
1830
Signed
Yes
Marks
Label "?271?/No. To: Rock ?" verso, frame, LR "Leybold" verso, frame, in white ink, right edge "Mordecai Emmanuel Noah" on and label "Grossvater's Bruder Samy Ehrenstamm" backing [no longer attached to canvas] in ink

Gotthelf Leberecht Glaeser

Portrait of Henrietta Reiss Levisthal

Oil on canvas

21 × 17 15/16 in. (53.3 × 45.6 cm)

2002-19

Not On View
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Inscription
None
Acquisition
Gift of Monica Waldeck Stone
Provenance
the sitter, Henrietta Reiss Levisthal. her great-nephew, Otto Schwarzschild, Wuppertal, Germany (at least by 1951); his wife, Hilde Molineus, Wuppertal, Germany (by 1983, but also in her possession during the War); her cousin's son through marriage, Tom Waldeck, Chappaqua, NY (by January, 1983); his daughter, Monica Waldeck Stone, Studio City, CA (until 2002)
Date Made
c. 1830
Signed
Yes
Marks
None

Unknown

Hanukkah Lamp

Copper alloy: repoussé, engraved, and appliqué; iron: cast, gilded, and painted

16 1/4 × 15 3/8 × 3 1/8 in. (41.3 × 39.1 × 7.9 cm)

D 208

On View
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Acquisition
Gift of the Danzig Jewish Community
Provenance
?.Lesser Gieldzinski Collection; donated to the Synagogue and Jewish Community of Danzig, 1904; transferred to Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, 1939; accessioned by the Jewish Museum, 1954
Date Made
c. 1830

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim

Bacchanalia and The Noble Effect of the Wine

Oil on paper

Each: 2 1/4 × 9 7/8 in. (5.7 × 25.1 cm)

JM 77-60a-b

Not On View
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Inscription
Upper center, in graphite, on secondary paper, "Bacchanalia" Lower center, in graphite, on secondary paper, "die edlere wirkung des weines-" [The two paintings are dry mounted to secondary paper; therefore verso not visible.]
Acquisition
Bequest of Georges E. Seligmann
Provenance
the artist. his great-grandson, Georges E. Seligmann, New York, NY (until 1960)
Date Made
c. 1822
Signed
Yes
Marks
"20 Mark" in graphite, on verso of secondary paper, UL "2 1/4 Margin on all round" in graphite, on verso of secondary paper, center Label "This property, gouache / of Moritz Oppenheim, prof. / has been given in 1960 to / the Jewish Museum, / N.Y. City, and must be delivered to it upon my / decease. George Seligman / Feb. 1961" in ink, attached to verso frame, UL Label "Property of / George Seligmann / of New York USA" in ink, attached to verso frame, UR

Unknown

Torah Binder

Cotton: embroidered with silk thread

9 1/2 × 103 3/4 in. (24.1 × 263.5 cm)

2004-64

Not On View
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Inscription
"aleph and tof" embroidered, in Hebrew, in three repeating rows, both ends of binder (see: Mann, Vivian B., ed. MOROCCO: JEWS AND ART IN A MUSLIM LAND. London: Merrell Publishers Ltd., 2000. pp. 170-171.)
Acquisition
Gift of Sonia Cohen Azagury
Provenance
?.[Dealer, Tangier, 1980; sold to Azagury]; Sonia Cohen Azagury (until 2004)
Date Made
19th century
Signed
Yes
Marks
none