Provenance Research Project
The Reading Public Museum is committed to transparency and responsible stewardship of its permanent collection. Provenance research (tracking the history and ownership of an object) is a time consuming and ongoing process, and while The Museum works to document the provenance of all objects in its collection, there may always be some gaps that remain. At RPM, special attention is given to researching the provenance of the European art collection during the years 1933 to 1945 to identify objects that could have been lost, stolen, or wrongly appropriated as a result of wartime looting and the persecution and pressures put upon rightful owners by the Nazi regime. The objects listed below meet the following criteria: they were created before 1946 and acquired by The Museum after 1932; underwent a change of ownership between 1932 and 1946; and/or could have been in Continental Europe between those dates.
Inclusion in this list by no means implies that the objects have any connection to misappropriation, but rather is evidence that the Reading Public Museum is committed to full transparency and rightful ownership. As provenance research continues, this list will be updated.
Anyone with an inquiry about the provenance of an object in RPM’s permanent collection is encouraged to reach out to provenanceresearch@readingpublicmuseum.org.
