Research into the provenance of works acquired for the art collection after 1945

Technology and art are brought together under one roof at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Baden-Württemberg. Besides an extensive collection of objects documenting the history of airship travel, the museum also houses the citys art collection, which has always been presented not only in the permanent exhibition, but also as part of changing exhibitions. It contains works from the Middle Ages through the Baroque period up to the present day, along with many fine examples of Classic Modernism.

After the entire holdings were lost during the Second World War, the former Municipal Museum of Lake Constancethe predecessor of the present-day Zeppelin Museumreestablished its collection with works predominantly acquired from art dealers and auctions. Among these were businesses such as the Adolf Weinmüller art auction house in Munich which, ever since the release of a study by Dr. Meike Hopp, has been the subject of critical attention throughout the museum landscape, and thus also in small establishments like the Zeppelin Museum. But also for other names central to the Zeppelin Museums collectionlike Dr. Benno Griebert in Meersburg/Constance/Munich/Rome, Roman Norbert Ketterer in Stuttgart, and Wolfgang Gurlitt in Munichresearch conducted both in the past and more recently had repeatedly referred to ties with the Nazi art trade and the possible continuity of these networks. The possibility associated with these individuals alone that objects acquired had originally been seized under the threat of persecution was ultimately the reason for the submission of a research proposal to the German Lost Art Foundation in Magdeburg.

The project goal initially was to systematically examine the provenances of nearly 100 objects and, as far as possible, rule out confiscation as a result of persecution, or make restitution efforts in the opposite case. Based on the above-mentioned motivation for the research proposal, priority was given to paintings, sculptures and graphic works that had come into the museum via the Weinmüller auction house, the Benno Griebert art dealership and Kunstkabinett Ketterer in Stuttgart.

In the second project year, this was then followed by the systematic investigation of a further selected inventory of paintings, graphic prints, and some sculptures. These were separate from the Ketterer, Weinmüller and Griebert acquisitions which had been a priority up to then.

After the initial emphasis on Gothic and Baroque sculpture and painting, by the 1980s the focus of the collection at the Lake Constance museum had shifted to representatives of Classic Modernism such as Otto Dix, Max Ackermann and Hans Purrmann. As the examination of problematic or definitely suspicious acquisitions had been delayed for such a long time, the decision was taken to prioritize these object provenances and to extend the time frame up to the year 2000. A further 195 objects were examined, meaning that the total number over both years of the project is 297 objects.

In addition, initial reappraisal of the museums institutional and collection history was a central priority. These efforts may be regarded as an exemplar of post-1945 reorganization of the museum landscape and also the art trade, together with its personnel structures.

The findings of the two-year project were presented to a wide public audience in the exhibition The Obligation of Ownership. An Art Collection under Scrutiny. The exhibition opened on May 3, 2018, and will be on display at the Zeppelin Museum until the beginning of 2020. It has been designed so the detective work carried out by researchers is shown alongside the results of the research, i.e. the provenance issues that have been clarified and those that are still outstanding. One aim of the exhibition is to convey the respective historical context and the networks of art dealers and museum directors involved in building up the Friedrichshafen collection. The works are presented in such a way that they are visible from both sides: they are hung on partition walls with sections cut out, making it possible for visitors to view a large selection of the works from the front and also from the back. For the rest of the works, a reproduction of the back of the painting has been created.

An accompanying catalog is in preparation and is expected to be published at the end of 2019.

(c) Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen GmbH