Oberösterreichische Landesmuseen

Provenance Research

In the context of the Federal Law on the Restitution of Art Objects from Austrian Federal Museums and Collections ( BGBl. 181/1998) passed in 1998, the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum, on the instructions of the Governor of Upper Austria, prepared a report on the restitution of art assets seized during the National Socialist era.

In 2002, the province of Upper Austria passed a restitution law that refers to "Aryanised" art assets Provincial Law on Restitution Measures for Victims of National Socialism of 1.4.2002). Even before that, in continuation of the above-mentioned Restitution Report, the Provincial Cultural Directorate of Upper Austria had commissioned a scientific research project that had as its basis research into the confiscation of art assets in Upper Austria and related complexes.

The Institute for Social and Economic History at the Johannes Kepler University Linz was commissioned with the project under the project management of University Prof. Dr. Michael John. Project collaborators were University Assistant Dr. Birgit Kirchmayr ( Institut für Neuere Geschichte und Zeitgeschichte, Johannes Kepler University) and Dr. Friedrich Buchmayr (Library, St. Florian Abbey).

In addition to researching the historical background, the project mandate also included researching objects that had been classified as questionable in the Landesmuseum's restitution report. The project staff worked in close cooperation with the staff of the Upper Austrian Provincial Museum.

The focus of these investigations was a collection of 17 paintings whose index cards contained the entry " 1945 vom Collecting Point München übernommen" ("taken over from the Collecting Point Munich") and whose origin was previously unknown to the Landesmuseum. In the course of the research, it was finally possible to gain significant insights into this collection: The paintings had been acquired during the war by Nazi Reich agencies, mostly in the context of the "Sonderauftrag Linz" for the planned "Linzer Führermuseum". The artworks, which had been stored in several depots (Reichskunstdepot Kremsmünster, Depot Schloss Thürntal, Depot "Agathawirt" near St. Goisern), were taken over by American art expert units in 1945 and stored in Linz since 1948, where the paintings were transferred to the Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum in 1951 for deposition, where they ultimately remained.

It was also possible to gain knowledge about the further provenance of these paintings, this means about their ownership prior to their acquisition by Nazi authorities, which, however, did not lead to clarification of the former ownership in all cases. The majority of the paintings were purchased for the Führer Museum through the German art trade, only in individual cases was it possible to research previous owners and thus verify or rule out a suspicion of looted art. In the case of one painting, expropriation could be proven and the painting restituted to the former owner, in the case of two paintings, a suspicion of looted art could be clearly ruled out, for the remaining 14 paintings, depending on the information available, doubts remain as to the provenance. For this reason - in addition to the fundamental desire of the Province of Upper Austria and the Oberösterreichische Landesmuseum for transparency in this area - the findings to date on the holdings of the paintings in question are also being published in this way.

Also published are photos and short descriptions of other objects from seized collections whose owners are still unknown despite research.

Detailed information on the research results can also be found in the publication of the research project published in 2007:

Birgit Kirchmayr, Friedrich Buchmayr, Michael John: Geraubte Kunst in Oberdonau, Linz 2007 (Oberösterreich in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus Bd. 6)