Van Weyenbergh Fine Arts Inc.                                      Beverly Hills    Palm Springs    Brussels    Paris

468 N. Camden Drive # 220
Beverly Hills                                                                        mailto:vanweyenbergh@aol.com
CA 90210

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What is the provenance? The research on the history of ownership.


Research on the history of ownership, or provenance, of works of art has always been
an important part of a curator's work. Museum curators conduct this research to shed light
on the historical, social, and economic context in which a work of art was created and
collected, as well as on the history of taste.

Art historians have always sought to know the identity of previous owners, but such information
is often difficult to establish. When a painting has been owned by a family for several generations
there may be no record of sale. Frequently, private collectors prefer to buy and sell works anonymously
through dealers or auction houses, whose records may therefore not disclose the true owner.
Moreover, many dealers and auction houses that were active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
are no longer in business and their records may have been lost or destroyed. Thus it is rare to find works
of art having a complete history of ownership. It is, therefore, important to bear in mind that gaps in
provenance do not necessarily indicate that a work was looted or stolen

Reconstruction of a complete history of ownership for a given work can be difficult and sometimes
impossible. Many records of ownership have been destroyed as a result of natural disasters, man-made
disasters such as war, and neglect. Information is sometimes withheld by dealers and auction houses
at the request of previous owners who wish to maintain their anonymity. Much archival information
remains undiscovered or difficult of access.

[ Home ][ ART APPRAISAL ][ ART AUTHENTICATION ][ CONTACT ][ site ]

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        Email    : vanweyenbergh@aol.com

        Phone: 1-760-200-4248        Fax: 1-760-200-4326