In 2019 and 2020, the Federal Office of Culture released fresh rounds of funding grants, which have enabled us to implement two research projects on the provenance of key bodies of work in the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, the public art collection of Basel. One concerned the

Acquisitions 1946–1962

The gallery’s project continued the research into the ownership histories of paintings and sculptures during the Nazi period, shifting the focus to works acquired during the postwar years (through 1962). Katharina Georgi (January 2019–October 2020) and Vanessa von Kolpinski (January 2020–), assisted by Joanna Smalcerz, scrutinized ca. 270 paintings and sculptures that entered the Kunstmuseum’s collections as acquisitions, gifts, or bequests during the tenure of director Georg Schmidt (1896–1965).
If you would like more information on this project, please consult the final report (to be released) and the list of works, which provides direct access to the entries in our Collection Online.

Provenance research project 2018–2020