Jill,
Under most circumstances, I agree that the ethical and probably even right
thing to do would be to return objects to their owners. The question in my
mind is making sure beyond any doubtful shadow that they are the "rightful"
owner(s), and determining whether or not the object(s) will simply be
returned. You are right that what they do afterward would be none of our
business, even if it is of concern to us as professionals. My personal
opinion would not weigh heavily on that decision by my board, assuming we
had any such work. This is all assuming the museum can be shown to have
acquired objects in good faith. Objects aquired with the knowledge that
they were looted should be returned without question.
I like the Lauren Rogers MOA site. A very cool way of getting works out
there to be seen, and to address the issue.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
Wichita State University
(316)978-5850
Jill Chancey
<[log in to unmask]
G> To
Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
discussion list cc
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
Re: Stolen Nazi Art
04/07/2006 04:46
PM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
list
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
To answer your question quoted below, Mark, returning stolen work to its
rightful owner is always the right thing to do, regardless of whether they
are going to sell it, give it to a museum, or store it in the attic.
Museums have no business telling people what to do with their own
possessions.
To the original query, I would suggest checking the AAM website for info &
links: http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/prov/index.cfm
and you can look at our website to see how a small museum without a
provenance research budget is handling it:
http://www.lrma.org/provenance.html
Jill R. Chancey, Curator
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
PO Box 1108
Laurel, MS 39441
(601) 649-6374
www.LRMA.org
[log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Janzen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: Stolen Nazi Art
> Of course, refusing such a request/demand could produce negative feelings
> and press, but why return something to an individual who is then going to
> sell it into the market?
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
