Marc Porter
Chairman
New York
Restitution at Christie’s
For over a quarter of a century, Christie’s has engaged with the legacy of Nazi-era and World War II art theft and dispossession. Losses during 1933–1945 to Europe’s collections, in particular those of Jewish collectors, through persecution, confiscation, and forced sales continue to resonate strongly in today’s art world. Christie’s has the largest and most experienced Restitution team of any international auction house, underscoring our responsibility to this field. Located in New York, London, Berlin, Brussels, and Vienna, our researchers have over 100 combined years of experience. We have made Nazi-era provenance research a hallmark of our expertise and inextricably a part of the art historical framework.
From the Collection of Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), Birch Forest
Our commitment
We take very seriously our commitment to sellers, buyers, and claimants alike to:
- Ensure Christie’s does not knowingly offer spoliated but unrestituted art works – providing confidence that artworks are vetted.
- Research provenance – expanding scholarship around the history of collecting and the art market.
- Support the resolution of restitution claims for consigned artworks – advocating in the spirit of the Washington Principles, for fair and amicable solutions.
Our guidelines for Nazi-era art restitution issues
Our team is committed to promoting a clear and balanced approach for dealing with provenance issues and ownership claims from the Nazi-era, including taking reasonable and appropriate steps to prevent stolen objects from circulating in the art market and, in particular, resolving provenance issues before offering objects for sale.
Christie’s handling of Nazi-era art spoliation is inspired by the Washington Conference Principles. Where concerns are identified or claims received for works of art consigned to Christie’s, we are committed to seeking fair and just resolutions. Acting as facilitators for dialogue, our aim is to bring about productive and open discourse and to help claimants and claim recipients to make considered and prompt decisions.
Contact us
We are privileged to work as both part of the art world and as part of the restitution community. We invite you to contact one of our specialists should you have a restitution or provenance query.
Restitution team
Richard Aronowitz
Global Head of Restitution
London
Sarah Done
Director
London
Eileen Brankovic
International Business Director
New York
Nina Senger
Senior Advisor, Associate Director
Berlin
Andrea Lehmann
Senior Researcher, Associate Director
Brussels
Laura Danguillaume-Blanckaert
Restitution Researcher
London
Lauren Farrington
Restitution Researcher
London
Victoria Pap
Restitution Research Coordinator
London
Sara Goodman
Restitution Research Associate
New York
Shannon Weiss
Restitution Researcher
New York
Florina Weber
Restitution Research Associate
Vienna
Main image: FRANZ MARC, The Foxes(Die Füchse), Christie’s London, March 2022.
Restituted by the city of Düsseldorf to the heirs of Kurt & Else Grawi