(MENAFN- Swissinfo) As Switzerland steps up its efforts to address looted art in public collections, Nikola Doll is set to play a central coordinating role. This month she starts work as the culture ministry official responsible for looted art in Switzerland.
This content was published on April 16, 2024 - 12:22 8 minutes Catherine Hickley
When the reclusive Cornelius Gurlitt bequeathed his problematic art collection to the Kunstmuseum Bern, the Swiss capital's museum of fine art, ten years ago, it created a new impetus in Swiss policy on Nazi-looted art that is still building. Nikola Doll has been a frontline witness to developments in her seven years leading research into the ownership history of Gurlitt's art.
This month she began a new job at the Swiss culture ministry, where she is in charge of provenance research and looted artExternal link , encompassing both Nazi plunder and heritage acquired in a colonial context. She will also manage the administrative office of a new independent commission to adjudicate claims for disputed cultural property, to be created later this year, and a new internet platform for provenance research.
At the Kunstmuseum Bern, Doll headed the first museum department in Switzerland devoted to provenance research, a role she found“challenging and exciting from beginning to end”, she said in an interview with SWI swissinfo. She added that she is“looking forward to the change of perspective” in her new post.“I'm also looking forward to extending my field of activity to colonial-era contexts,” she said.
Her appointment is evidence that, almost 80 years after the end of the Second World War, Switzerland has started taking its responsibilities for Nazi-looted art more seriously. The new independent commission fulfils a 25-year-old commitment under the international, non-binding Washington Principles to establish“alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for resolving ownership issues”.
Bringing German best practices to Swiss museums: Nina Zimmer, director of the Kunstmuseum Bern (right), speaks alongside Nikola Doll during the annual media conference of the Kunstmuseum Bern, in which the Gurlitt Collection was the main topic. December 2017. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / PETER KLAUNZER Market hub for looted art
Switzerland was one of 44 countries to endorse the Washington Principles in 1998, agreeing to encourage museums to conduct provenance research, identify art seized by the Nazis, and seek“just and fair solutions” with the original Jewish collectors and their heirs. But for many years, there was not much Swiss government action.
While Austria, Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands created commissions to evaluate restitution claims more than 20 years ago, museums in Switzerland were left to handle such claims themselves. Swiss officials argued that the country was never occupied by the Nazis and therefore not a major repository of looted art. Yet Switzerland served as a market hub for art from Germany before and during the war.
More More 'There's a lot of Nazi-looted art in Switzerland'
This content was published on Nov 20, 2014 The author of a book on the Gurlitt collection talks about the“web of deceit and silence” surrounding it plus the legal and moral situation.
Read more: 'There's a lot of Nazi-looted art in Switzerland'
MENAFN16042024000210011054ID1108101852
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.