Nazi-era art provenance research training program at the University of Denver.

The Center for Art Collection Ethics (ACE) at the University of Denver (DU) is pleased to announce a hybrid training program on the fundamentals of Nazi-era art provenance research, June 24-28, 2024. In partnership with DU’s Center for Professional Development, our program is geared toward graduate students in any field and emerging museum professionals, with selected streamed sessions available to the broader public. We will offer an on-campus postgraduate certificate of completion to twenty students through an application process. In addition, non-certificate students and other attendees may register to attend selected sessions virtually.

Our planning team includes Antonia Bartoli, Curator of Provenance Research at the Yale University Art Gallery; Elizabeth Campbell, Professor of History at DU and Director of ACE; and Renée Stokesbury, Associate Provenance Researcher at the Denver Art Museum.

The certificate program includes: 

- Interactive lectures and discussions with top historians, provenance researchers and museum staff, with break-out sessions to allow smaller group discussions. 
- Workshops on legal and ethical challenges in the stewardship and trade of Nazi-looted art.
- Discussion of the legal landscape and alternative dispute resolution with Nicholas O'Donnell, Litigation Partner, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Boston; and Anna Rubin, Director, Holocaust Claims Processing Office of the New York Department of Financial Services.
- Claimants' perspectives, featuring Laurel Zuckerman and Jona Goldschmidt.
- Tracking plundered items on the art market with Amelie Ebbinghaus, Director, Art Loss Register, London.
- Site visit to the Denver Art Museum, where Renée Stokesbury will present examples of her research.
- Jacques Schuhmacher, Senior Provenance Research Curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, on making provenance public.
- Information on archival resources abroad and in the United States, including presentations by Sylvia Naylor from the National Archives and Records Administration, and experts at the Frick Library in New York.
- Research beyond paintings with Joanna Gohmann, Provenance Researcher & Object Historian, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art; and Anne Elizabeth Dunn-Vaturi, Senior Provenance Researcher, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- Workshops on writing provenance narratives, transparency, and making research public, facilitated by Antonia Bartoli and Renée Stokesbury.
- For certificate students: small group work on provenance research case studies using digital resources, and presentation of findings during a symposium the final day of the program. 

Application Requirements
Completed form [fillable pdf]
One letter of recommendation to be sent directly from the referee
Transcript(s) of higher education completed thus far, or an essay explaining equivalent experience
Send materials in a single pdf to ahss.acedu.edu, with “application” in the subject line.

Certificate program fee, including lodging and most meals: $750
The program fee includes:
Lodging in an upscale, apartment-style dormitory with single bedrooms
Meals, including welcome reception and final banquet
Transportation locally to museums
Certificate tuition
Students pay for travel costs to and from Denver

Selected sessions will be streamed and available to the public for a modest fee, with recordings available for one year. Stay tuned for updates, in this space and on Instagram and X (Twitter).

Applications for the certificate program are due Sunday, March 31, 2024.

For more information, visit ACE at https://liberalarts.du.edu/art-collection-ethics/training.