Permanent Collection

Provenance Research at the Vancouver Art Gallery

In museums and galleries around the world, research is underway to determine and strengthen the provenance of art works and objects in their collections. At the Vancouver Art Gallery, we are continually researching the provenance (history of ownership), of works in our collection. In response to the Guidelines Governing the Unlawful Appropriation of Objects during the Nazi Era, adopted by the Association of Art Museum Directors, and the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization, the Gallery seeks to make public, via this website, our research into the provenance of the works listed below. We are specifically tracking their ownership during the period from 1933 to 1945.

The reconstruction of a complete history of ownership for any given work can be laborious and sometimes impossible to piece together. Records of ownership may have been lost, destroyed and are commonly separated from the object to which they pertain. Much archival information remains undiscovered or difficult to access. In addition, any provenance information the Gallery receives or uncovers must be treated cautiously, since documentary evidence could have been misattributed to the object.

The seven works published below have no provenance records for the period from 1933 to 1945. The works were all donated to the Gallery in 1983 and we believe they derive from London, England. Such gaps in our knowledge of their ownership are not uncommon and do not necessarily prove that these works were acquired illegally or inappropriately. However, by publishing this list the Gallery makes their provenance open to inquiry and will hopefully result in valuable data being uncovered. For further description of these works or to send us related information please contact us at: curatorial@vanartgallery.bc.ca
Acting The Part: Photography as Theatre
Willem van de Velde,
Untitled (Warships on a calm sea), 1678
oil on canvas
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery,
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson
Fred Herzog
Abraham Storck, Untitled (View of the port of Amsterdam), n.d.
oil on canvas
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery,
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson
 Fred Herzog
Abraham Storck,
Untitled (View of the port of Amsterdam), n.d.
oil on canvas
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery,
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson
Acting The Part: Photography as Theatre
Peeter Neeffs, The Elder,
Untitled, n.d.
oil on panel
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery,
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson
  Fred Herzog
Bathasar van de Ast,
Untitled (Still life with peaches and shells), n.d.
oil on panel
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery,
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson
  Fred Herzog
Jan van Goyen,
Untitled (Frozen river landscape with skaters), 1627
oil on panel
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson
Acting The Part: Photography as Theatre
Jan van Huysum,
Untitled (Still life with flowers and fruit), n.d.
oil on panel
Collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Davidson