Provenance Research:

This project is investigating the provenance of a set of 601 drawings and watercolours by Rudolf von Alt (1812-1905) and 16 watercolours by Jakob von Alt (1789-1872) that, as property of the NSDAP, entered the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München (SGSM) in 1959. The works that were assigned to SGSM by the Treuhandverwaltung für Kulturgut in München had, for he most part, been assembled by Martin Bormann and his agents on behalf of Adolf Hitler. Until the 1930s, many of the works had been in the possession of Jewish collectors in Vienna.

This stock of works will not only undergo systematic examination; in particular, the project sets out to analyse the role of Martin Bormann (1900-1945), "Reichsleiter der NSDAP“, within national socialist art theft and looting. The so-called “Alt-Aktion” is of special relevance since, in some cases, claims for restitution are pending.

The results of the project will be published as an online database. In 2015, an exhibition of Rudolf von Alt’s drawings and watercolours will take place in Munich. The project is managed by Andreas Strobl of the SSGM and undertaken by Meike Hopp of the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte Munich.