Provenance Research and Restitution at the MAK
In accordance with the Austrian Art Restitution Act, the MAK began in 1998 to review its collection with regard to objects expropriated during the Nazi period.
Under the Nazi regime, more than 4,200 art objects, over 4,600 art prints, and about 2,000 books were entered into the collection. The medium-term objective of the MAK provenance research project is the complete reviewing of these acquisitions.
In addition, research is being conducted on objects inventoried after 1945 with regard to possible confiscation under the Nazi regime and defaulted restitution.
In 2009, the Austrian Art Restitution Act was amended so as to cover all dispossessions which accurred under the Nazi regime. This implies extending the investigation period to the years from 1933 to 1938. MAK provenance researchers have already started investigating that period.
Research is conducted in cooperation with the federal Provenance Research Commission (PRC). More than 45 dossiers have been compiled and more than 400 objects have been restituted since 1998.
CONTACT.
MAK Provenance Research Officer: Rainald Franz
PRC Researcher: Leonhard Weidinger