Parzinger: Provenance research must not end at the doors of public institutions!
Press release from 02/02/2018
As part of a debate on developments since the adoption of the Washington Principles (principles of the Washington Conference in relation to works of art confiscated by the National Socialists) 20 years ago, the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, stated today:
"A lot has already happened in the 20 years since the Washington Principles were adopted, but the chapter is far from closed. At the SPK, we have brought more than 50 restitution cases to a fair and equitable settlement and continue to systematically process our holdings. Throughout Germany, public museums and libraries are fulfilling their task of reappraisal, and project funding from the German Lost Art Foundation is a very important support for this. However, research and reappraisal of injustice cannot, of course, end at the doors of public institutions. Many gaps remain, not least because private archives and art trade documents are difficult or impossible for provenance researchers to access. That has to change!"
More on provenance research at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation:
www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/schwerpunkte/provenienzforschung-und-eigentumsfragen.html