Provenance Researcher Sara Biever Investigates Nazi-Era Auction Purchases for Berlin State Museums
Sara Sophie Biever, a provenance researcher at the Central Archive of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, works alongside Hanna Strzoda on the initiative titled "Auktionen in Berlin 1933 bis 1945," which receives funding from the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. This project examines approximately 1,700 museum acquisitions from auction houses during the period of 1933 to 1945, concentrating on a third of these transactions. Its goal is to uncover around 240 anonymous consignors, many of whom were Jewish or faced persecution. Biever conducts in-depth research and partners with museums, sharing her discoveries in the "Informationssystem zu Auktions-Einlieferungen." She appreciates uncovering links in provenance records but finds gaps in historical documentation frustrating.
Key facts
- Sara Sophie Biever is a provenance researcher at the Central Archive of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
- She is working on the pilot project "Auktionen in Berlin 1933 bis 1945" with colleague Hanna Strzoda.
- The project is funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
- It investigates about 1,700 acquisitions made by SMB museums at auctions between 1933 and 1945.
- The initial focus is on the Berlin market, covering roughly one-third of these acquisitions.
- Researchers aim to identify approximately 240 anonymous consignors of artworks to these auctions.
- The auction market was often used to liquidate Jewish collections and businesses during the Nazi era.
- Findings will be published in the "Informationssystem zu Auktions-Einlieferungen" database.
Entities
Artists
- Sara Sophie Biever
- Hanna Strzoda
- Max Ernst
- Dorothea Tanning
- Ulla Pietzsch
- Heiner Pietzsch
- Lisa Hackmann
Institutions
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
- Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin
- Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien
- German Sales
- Informationssystem zu Auktions-Einlieferungen
- Museum and the City
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany