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The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is participating in the nationwide effort to identify works of art that may have been illegally confiscated from their rightful owners by the Nazi regime during World War II. Committed to the responsible stewardship of its collection, the museum is conducting in-depth provenance research on a number of paintings in the permanent collection, in compliance with the guidelines issued by the American Association of Museums in 1999 and 2001.
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is participating in the nationwide effort to identify works of art that may have been illegally confiscated from their rightful owners by the Nazi regime during World War II. Committed to the responsible stewardship of its collection, the museum is conducting in-depth provenance research on a number of paintings in the permanent collection, in compliance with the guidelines issued by the American Association of Museums in 1999 and 2001.
Every year, we are honored to host what some artists have called the "championships for our young artists": the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards. Featuring artworks by the Mid-South's best and brightest creative youths, this is a visual celebration of the Mid-South's best creativity.
Learn MoreThis dynamic exhibition features artwork created by the Memphis-area students who participated in the 2023-24 Art Builds Creativity (ABC) program.
Learn MoreExperience the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s latest acquisition: The Human Zoo (2015) by Cree artist Kent Monkman (b. 1965).
Learn MoreThe Inspired Aging: Art and Wellness course brings to life the many ways mindfulness and creativity can both inspire and positively impact well-being.
Learn More'Black American Portraits' reframes the history of portraiture to center Black American subjects, sitters, and spaces. The exhibition chronicles the many ways in which Black Americans have used portraiture to envision themselves in their own eyes.
Learn MoreExplore how artists convey sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch in their masterpieces. This interactive exhibit will highlight art from Memphis’s art collection ranging from floral watercolor to Cubist prints.
Learn MoreThis dynamic exhibition features artwork created by the Memphis-area students who participated in the 2022-23 Art Builds Creativity (ABC) program.
Learn MoreMemphis-based Peruvian-American photographer Andrea Morales’s (b. 1984; Lima, Peru) portrayal of the Delta South is deeply rooted in the communities she engages with, and because of this, a truer account of this region that is often portrayed through stereotypes, misperceptions, nostalgia, and storytelling.
Learn MoreFor eighty-four years, the Memphis College of Art (MCA) offered rigorous arts education to students from across the country and around the world. To celebrate the illustrious history of the college, in 2025 the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will open an exhibition with works by faculty, administrators, and graduates.
Learn MoreNazi-Era Research
Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi Party systemically persecuted and stripped Jewish people from Nazi-occupied Europe of their possessions. These objects were looted, sold, dispersed, or destroyed. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art began Nazi-Era provenance research in 2002, focusing on all European paintings in the permanent collection that transferred ownership or have gaps in their provenance from 1933 to 1945.
Although we cannot conclude that a work of art was looted or appropriated by the Nazis simply because it has incomplete or unverified information in its provenance, gaps do indicate that more robust research must be conducted. Many times, these gaps in provenance are the result of lost or destroyed gallery records, or the requested anonymity of a past owner. Several of the museum’s paintings have been researched and their provenance has been established, while others continue to be investigated.
The American Association of Museums has developed a Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal which provides a searchable registry of objects in United States museum collections that fit the criteria discussed above.
In allowing public access, we join with the international art museum community in the diligent search for items seized or looted during the Nazi era. If you have any inquiries or information about these items, please contact the museum at provresearch@brooksmuseum.org.
Colonial-Era Research
Throughout history, many works of art from around the world were stolen, forcibly sold, or taken without consent as the direct result of Colonialism. The communities whose objects were taken experienced trauma, violence, and loss. Looting is not just an issue of the past. These problems persist globally due to war, riot, shifts in government, organized crime, terrorism, and natural disasters and, unfortunately, looted objects emerge on the art market to this day.
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is committed to not only investigating the history of objects in our collection with possible links to Colonialism, but also to ensuring that all incoming acquisitions and gifts have a verified past that align with our ethical obligations.
Information about the permanent collections of the Brooks Museum