Washington Principles

April 9, 2011

The Krakow Declaration, May 14, 2009, Krakow, Poland

The Krakow Declaration was written by a group of independent historians, attorneys, and members of the art trade, from the United States and Europe, concerned over […]
April 18, 2011

A comprehensive database of looted art: fantasy or reality?

At present, there is no comprehensive database for works of art and objets d’art looted during the Second World War and under the Nazi regime. Let’s […]
May 30, 2011

Analysis of an address by Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat at Prague in June 2009

On June 27, 2009, US Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat spoke the following words to the assembled participants at the Prague Holocaust Era Assets Conference: “Like the […]
June 26, 2011

Revisiting the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-confiscated Art—13 years later.

At the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets which took place in Washington, DC, in early December 1998, a set of principles emerged to cope with the […]
August 24, 2011

An imaginary conversation about Grosz v. MOMA

“Max Hermann-Neisse” All rights reserved, Estate of George Grosz,  licensed by VAGA, New York;  Image courtesy of Museum of Modern Art In the August 24, 2011, […]
June 16, 2014

Provenance research—now and later (Second Installment)

Since the seizure of “Portrait of Wally” in early January 1998, provenance research has lost its innocence. Battle lines have been drawn between defendants upholding their […]
February 1, 2016

When is “just and fair” fair and just?

by Marc Masurovsky It is difficult to pin down precisely the genesis of the concept known as “fair and just” or “just and fair” solution in […]
February 10, 2016

Thoughts about provenance research, 1995-2016

by Marc Masurovsky It has been almost twenty years, yes, 20, two times 10, 4 times 5, since “provenance research” entered the public sphere in the […]
March 31, 2016

Provenance research on display—Part One

by Marc Masurovsky Twenty years ago, on December 3, 1998, at the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, representatives of more than forty countries and a handful […]