Smart Museum of Art University of Chicago

Collections

• Provenance Research

Provenance research project

The Smart Museum of Art maintains records on all the works of art in our collection. Research on the collection is ongoing, and records are continually updated as new information becomes available. Since 1998, the Smart has intensified our efforts to research the provenance (ownership history) of paintings and sculpture in our collection created in Europe prior to the end of World War II.

We have been unable to ascertain the war-time history of the work listed below. It is important to note that in general, for works of art created in Europe prior to the end of World War II, information about complete history of ownership is often unavailable, or if available, unverifiable. As new information becomes available, we will update this list. A database of our entire collection is available to search online.

Max Pechstein (German, 1881–1955)
Head of a Girl
1910

Oil on canvas, 20-1/2 x 20 inches
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Randall Shapiro
1992.19

Provenance: Purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Randall Shapiro from Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago, 1957. Given by the Shapiros to the Smart Museum in 1992.

Contact

If you have information about the history of ownership of the listed work, or any works in our collection, please write to:

Richard A. Born
Senior Curator
rborn@uchicago.edu

Smart Museum of Art
University of Chicago
5550 S. Greenwood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637

Additional resources

• Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal
  
• American Alliance of Museums (AAM) standards
  
• Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)
  
• Art Loss Registry