Between the fall of 2016 and the end of August 2018, owing to generous funding from the Federal Office of Culture (BAK), the Kunstmuseum was offered the opportunity to immerse for the first time in the extraordinarily challenging questions that surround the issue of provenance. The two-year research project was dedicated to an investigation of the origins of the ca. 380 paintings and sculptures that entered the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel between 1933 and 1945. Systematic analysis and collation of all available sources painted a detailed portrait of the Kunstsammlung’s collection-building policies of the period under the leadership of the museum’s directors Otto Fischer (1928–1939) and Georg Schmidt (1939–1962) in the historical context.

The list below offers an overview of all works that were examined. The findings on each work are accessible via a direct link leading to our Collection Online. The final report offers a summary of the project’s research and can likewise be consulted below.

Collection entries between 1933 and 1945

Project Provenance Research 2016-2018