These pages present the results of research undertaken by the Hunt Museum on provenance, or the history of ownership, of its collection, under the direction of the Royal Irish Academy’s Hunt Museum, Evaluation Committee. The Evaluation Committee was appointed in May 2005 by the Royal Irish Academy in agreement with the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism to provide an independent oversight of the process of an investigation of the provenance of all objects in the Hunt Museum. Its members are Mr Seán Cromien, former Secretary General of the Department of Finance (Chairman); Dr Michael Ryan, MRIA, past President of the Royal Irish Academy and Director of the Chester Beatty Library (Secretary); Dr Anne Kelly, Head of the Arts Administration Programme, University College, Dublin, and Ms Helen Wechsler of the American Association of Museums. As required under the terms of reference, an internationally reputable expert in the area of art provenance, Ms Nancy Yeide of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, has been appointed to support the group in the conduct of its business. She is an expert in particular on World War II provenance research.

The goal of the Provenance Research Project is to systematically review the ownership history of objects managed by the Hunt Museum Ltd with the current focus on identifying objects that may have been improperly sold or traded during the Nazi era. The project was initiated in 2005 and is still in an elementary phase. We hope that anyone with additional information will come forward; ultimately this will help us resolve the status of objects in our collection.

Users must note that the history of ownership is not definitive or comprehensive, as it is under constant review and revision by the Hunt Museum Provenance Research Project Team. We encourage anyone with an interest in this information to visit the site regularly to stay current as research progresses and information is updated.

If you have any provenance related inquires or information, please contact director at huntmuseum.com.