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Restitution at Christie’s

For over a quarter of a century, Christie’s has engaged with the legacy of Nazi-era and World War II art theft and dispossession. Losses during 1933–1945 to Europe’s collections, in particular those of Jewish collectors, through persecution, confiscation, and forced sales continue to resonate strongly in today’s art world. Christie’s has the largest and most experienced Restitution team of any international auction house, underscoring our responsibility to this field. Located in New York, London, Berlin, Brussels, and Vienna, our researchers have over 100 combined years of experience. We have made Nazi-era provenance research a hallmark of our expertise and inextricably a part of the art historical framework.

A white-gloved hand touches a golden object behind a black letter "C" on a square frame.
Birch Forest

From the Collection of Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), Birch Forest

Our commitment

We take very seriously our commitment to sellers, buyers, and claimants alike to:

  • Ensure Christie’s does not knowingly offer spoliated but unrestituted art works – providing confidence that artworks are vetted.
  • Research provenance – expanding scholarship around the history of collecting and the art market.
  • Support the resolution of restitution claims for consigned artworks – advocating in the spirit of the Washington Principles, for fair and amicable solutions.

Our guidelines for Nazi-era art restitution issues

Our team is committed to promoting a clear and balanced approach for dealing with provenance issues and ownership claims from the Nazi-era, including taking reasonable and appropriate steps to prevent stolen objects from circulating in the art market and, in particular, aiming to resolve provenance issues before offering objects for sale.

Christie’s handling of Nazi-era art spoliation is inspired by the Washington Conference Principles. Where concerns are identified or claims received for works of art consigned to Christie’s, we are committed to seeking fair and just resolutions. Acting as facilitators for dialogue, our aim is to bring about productive and open discourse and to help claimants and claim recipients to make considered decisions.

Lost Amsterdam: Portraits of a Vanished World

This interactive tour and suite of stories provide insight into the lives of patrons and members of society who turned to Amsterdam as a safe haven during the height of the Nazi era in Europe. It chronicles the lives of the persecuted and dispossessed through the remarkable art and artifacts that have found a place among the important restituted works of the 20th century.

Lost Paris: Stories of World War II Art Looting and Recovery

This project provides a snapshot of the Parisian art world before, during and after the Occupation. It features the stories of Jewish collectors and art dealers whose art was looted by the Nazis during World War II and passed through the Jeu de Paume, where the art historian Rose Valland kept secret notes on their destinations. She would be integral to the recovery of these artworks and others for many years to come.

Lost Berlin: Retracing the Weimar-Era Art World

This interactive tour chronicles the lost era of the Tiergartenviertel neighborhood, once the center of Berlin’s art world during the period between the two world wars. Including interactive virtual maps, texts, photographs and more, Lost in Berlin features pre-war landmarks and stories of Jewish art-world luminaries.

Contact us

We are privileged to work as both part of the art world and as part of the restitution community. We invite you to contact one of our specialists should you have a restitution or provenance query.

Restitution team

Marc Porter

Marc Porter

Chairman

New York

Marc Porter is Chairman of Christie’s Americas. Over his 34 years with the company, Marc has worked in a series of roles in Specialist and Management divisions and has been involved with the evolution of the global art business, including Online Commerce and Private Sales, as well as services such as Restitution. In 2022, Marc oversaw the landmark sale of the Paul G. Allen Collection, which, at $1.7 billion, surpassed The Collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller (also stewarded by Marc) as the most valuable collection ever sold at auction and the highest ever total for a philanthropic sale. In the Restitution field, Marc has led efforts in groundbreaking acknowledgment of matters regarding World War II period spoliation and national patrimony. He established Christie’s dedicated Restitution department, and has overseen virtually every sale of restituted art at Christie’s, including the landmark sale of the Bloch- Bauer Klimts in 2006. Marc earned a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a law degree from Yale Law School.
Richard-Aronowitz

Richard Aronowitz

Global Head of Restitution

London

Richard Aronowitz is based in London, and joined Christie’s in 2022 after almost 24 years at another major auction house where he led the Restitution department in Europe from 2006 to 2021. In this previous role, he was responsible for building relationships with restitution lawyers, researchers, families and heirs. He also worked at Bloomsbury Auctions, the Ben Uri Gallery and was Head of Research in the Impressionist and Modern Art department at Sotheby’s earlier in his career. He is the author of several novels and an expert on German Expressionism. In his role as Global Head of Restitution, Richard directs Restitution efforts to further enhance Christie’s global status at the forefront of the market, to provide skillful expertise and leadership in the field.
SARAH DONE

Sarah Done

Director

London

Sarah Done has spent 20 years in Restitution at Christie’s. She is the lead contact for claims resolution and historic inquiries and oversees provenance research.
Eileen Brankovic

Eileen Brankovic

International Business Director

New York

Eileen Brankovic joined Christie’s in 2012, after having studied law and with extensive auction experience. After eight years with Impressionist and Modern Art, Americas, she moved to Restitution as International Business Director. Eileen is responsible for delivering on Restitution’s mission to ensure that we do not knowingly sell spoliated but unrestituted art works, to the ongoing research and identification of such objects, and to providing Christie’s services to members of the Restitution community. Eileen oversees the team of provenance researchers and works closely with the art department specialists, art law and press teams to ensure seamless delivery.

Reflecting on Restitution: 25 years of the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art

Christie’s Restitution department honours the 25th anniversary of the Washington Principles with a global series of events and initiatives

Read more
Franz Marc The Foxes

Main image:   FRANZ MARC, The Foxes(Die Füchse), Christie’s London, March 2022.
Restituted by the city of Düsseldorf to the heirs of Kurt & Else Grawi 

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