Provenance Research

Provenance is an investigative method of following an object’s physical journey from its moment of origin to the present day. The field of provenance research has evolved and continues to change significantly, and the Smart Museum of Art is committed to studying the layered histories of objects in our permanent collection.

In 2015, the Museum was awarded the first Association of Art Museum Directors / Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Fellowship, which focused on works created in Europe prior to World War II; and in 2024, in collaboration with the Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion, the Smart explored new opportunities in conducting provenance research into objects of religious origin, thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. In 2025, the Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded the Museum a transformative, multi-year grant to support provenance research through institutional, interdisciplinary, and community initiatives that are uniquely possible at an academic art museum.