Provenance Research Workshop
Tools for Research in Archives and Libraries in Washington, DC
A Collaboration between The Society for the History of Collecting, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and the Smithsonian Archives of American Art
May 22 and May 23, 2024
Following the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art of 1998, we believe this is a timely moment to examine the state of provenance research as conducted in museums and to draw attention to underutilized resources. While the Washington Principles focused on Nazi-era restitutions and resulted in a sea change in American museums’ approach to researching provenance, the scrutinization of how art journeyed across cultures and periods has expanded well beyond the Conference’s initial parameters. The foundation of provenance research, however, remains in the archive. Although there is no doubt that the development and growth of the internet have made certain types of records easily (or more easily) accessible, many valuable resources remain available only in analog format.
This workshop is intended to give an overview of:
• provenance research at the National Gallery of Art
• special collections held in the National Gallery of Art Library, Archives, and Curatorial Records
• other underutilized resources
• potential areas of research
The intended audience is curators, archivists, emerging scholars, and the broader art history community of the region.
DAY ONE
Wednesday, May 22: National Gallery of Art
10:00 am-12:20 pm Morning Session: Welcome and Case-Study Presentations
1:45 pm-4:00 pm Afternoon Session: Visits to National Gallery Archives, Library, and Curatorial Records
4:30 pm: Key-Note Lecture: “Provenance and the Archive: Presences and Absences”
Dr. Anne Helmreich, Director, Smithsonian Archives of American Art
DAY TWO
Thursday, May 23: Visits to Archives and Museums in Washington, DC including the Smithsonian Archives of American Art and Dumbarton Oaks
For information: americas@societyhistorycollecting.org
Image: Federico Barocci, Quintilia Fischieri (detail) Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art 1939.1.165
