Global – In addition to hosting a year-long global programme marking the 25^th anniversary of the Washington Principles, Christie’s is pleased to announce the 2023 Christie’s Grant for Nazi-Era Provenance Research.  The Grant, to be offered to three scholars worldwide (£5,000 each), will fund forward-thinking academic post-graduate research into subjects related to Nazi-era provenance studies. Each Grant recipient also will receive professional mentorship with a member of Christie’s international Restitution team to further support their work. Applications will be accepted until 31 May, and award recipients will be announced on 3 December 2023, to coincide with the Washington Conference anniversary.

Sarah Done, Director, Christie’s Restitution Department explains: “These new grants deepen Christie’s ongoing commitment to engage with Nazi-era restitution, to expand scholarship in provenance research, and to ensure continued focus on this vital topic, providing support to an emerging new generation of researchers.”

Christie’s will work together with an international panel of leading experts in the field of provenance research to select the Grant recipients, including the following:

- Anne Webber, Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Commission for Looted Art in Europe

- Marc Masurovsky, Co-Founder, Holocaust Art Restitution Project

- Dr. Meike Hopp, Professor of Digital Provenance, Technische Universität Berlin

- Bianca Gaudenzi, Research Fellow, Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz; German Historical Institute in Rome; Wolfson College, Cambridge

- Nikola Doll, Research Director, Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte (German Center for Art History)

The 2023 Christie’s Grant for Nazi-Era Provenance Research is made possible with support from The Christie's Fund, with a vision to increase and support voices under-represented in provenance research, and to support early career development for scholars, particularly encouraging those for whom financial support will significantly impact their opportunity to pursue specialized research.

The application process will close on 31 May 2023 to graduate students in art history or with an interdisciplinary interest in Nazi-era related provenance research. Early applications are encouraged and submissions should be directed via email to Restitution2023@christies.com | The Christies Grant for Nazi-era Provenance Research

APPLICATION DETAILS

All applications should include:

- An outline of the applicant’s current or proposed research topic (1,000 – 2,000 words), including date of thesis submission

- Confirmation of applicant’s enrollment at an academic institution in a post-graduate course (Master’s or Ph.D studies) for the year 2023/2024

- Two academic references

- A statement of how financial support - up to £5,000 - would assist in the completion of the applicant’s studies. (Noting that grants should be utilised within 18 months of receipt. Grants may cover institutional/tuition fees, research-related costs or to assist open access publication)

- Curriculum vitae

- Any additional information supporting alignment with the goals of The Christie’s Fund

ABOUT THE EXPERT SELECTION PANEL / 2023 Christie’s Grant for Nazi-Era Provenance Research

Sarah Done, Christie’s, Director of Restitution

Sarah joined Christie’s in 2003, with the sole focus on Nazi-era restitution from 2004. First researching artworks for sale and now as Director of Restitution, she works principally on the research and resolution dialogue for restitution claims. Sarah contributes to shaping Christie’s approach to restitution and establishing its reputation for best practice in this field, working widely with colleagues both in-house and within the restitution community.

Anne Webber, Commission for Looted Art in Europe

Anne Webber is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe (CLAE). Established in 1999, CLAE is a non-profit, expert, representative body which negotiates restitution laws and policies with governments and cultural institutions, conducts research and trains provenance researchers, and acts for families worldwide to identify, locate and recover their Nazi-looted cultural property.

Marc Masurovsky, Holocaust Art Restitution Project

Marc Masurovsky co-founded the Holocaust Art Restitution Project (HARP) in September 1997, serving as Director of Research. He was Director of the Provenance Research Training Program at the Prague-based European Shoah Legacy Institute (ESLI) and from 2005-19, Project Director of the Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume.  He has been an expert historian in class-action lawsuits against Swiss banks and consultant to the US Department of Justice's Office of Special Investigations.

Dr. Meike Hopp, Technische Universität Berlin

As a research specialist at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (ZI) in Munich, Meike Hopp led several projects in the field of provenance research, especially on Nazi looted art, and art market research. In November 2019, she was appointed Professor of Digital Provenance at the Technische Universität Berlin.

Bianca Gaudenzi, Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz; German Historical Institute in Rome; Wolfson College, Cambridge

Bianca Gaudenzi is Research Fellow at the Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz and the German Historical Institute in Rome, as well as CRA at Wolfson College, Cambridge. Her publications include a Special Section of the Journal of Contemporary History entitled The Restitution of Looted Art in the Twentieth Century: Transnational and Global Perspectives (2017).

Nikola Doll, Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte

Nikola Doll heads the Provenance Research Department at the Kunstmuseum Bern, where she is responsible for researching the museum's collections and the Cornelius Gurlitt bequest. Her academic focus is on art and cultural politics in National Socialism and the postwar period, especially the looting of art and cultural property as well as provenance research, the history of science, and political iconology.

CHRISTIE’S REFLECTING ON RESTITUTION PROGRAMME

The year 2023 marks the 25^th anniversary of the Washington Principles – an international agreement that opened a new era of transparency with respect to art lost or stolen during the Nazi period between 1933 and 1945. Throughout the year, Christie’s Restitution Department will honour this landmark moment with Reflecting on Restitution, a global programme of events. During 2023, scholars, legal experts, researchers and interested parties will meet in Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, London, New York as well as throughout the United States, and Tel Aviv, to share and discuss important stories, ideas and perspectives. Throughout the year, global audiences will be invited to engage with the programme through other in-person opportunities as well as Christie’s dedicated website, featuring recordings of selected events, stories of important restitutions, as well as a virtual tour of historic sites throughout Berlin.

In December 1998, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum brought together participants from 44 countries and 13 non-governmental organizations, as well as observers from art museums and auction houses, to Washington, D.C., to address the widespread loss and confiscation of art during the Holocaust era. This group established and publicly shared 11 Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, which offered a new way forward for victims and their heirs to research, locate, and, where possible, recover missing art and lost histories. The Washington Principles have ushered in a new wave of art restitution and they are the foundation of Christie’s approach to art and cultural valuables that were lost during the Nazi-era and to the work of its Restitution Department.  More information about the Programme and the work of our global restitution team is available online HERE and HERE. Further events will be taking place in Vienna (May), London and Berlin during the summer, and in New York and Tel Aviv later in the year, with information on each of these to be issued nearer to the time.