The Journal of Art Crime Issue 20 Fall 2018 Edited by Noah Charney Published by ARCA Publications JOURNAL OF ART CRIME Editor-in-Chief Co-Editors-in-Chief Noah Charney Marc Balcells Founder, ARCA John Jay College of Law Christos Tsirogiannis University of Cambridge Editorial Board Lord Colin Renfrew Dennis Ahern Professor of Archaeology, University of Cambridge Director of Security, the Tate Museums, UK Petrus van Duyne Richard Ellis Professor of Criminology, University of Tilburg, The Netherlands Director, ArtResolve and Art Risk Consultant, UK Matjaž Jager Col. Giovanni Pastore Director, Institute of Criminology, Slovenia Retired, Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Kenneth Polk Heritage, Rome, Italy Professor of Criminology, University of Melbourne, Australia Neil Brodie David Simon Professor of Archaeology, University of Glasgow, UK Professor of Art History, Colby College, US David Gill Erik Nemeth Professor of Archaeology, University of Suffolk RAND Group, US A. J. G. Tijhuis Liisa van Vliet Attorney, Pontius Lawyers, and NSCR, Amsterdam, The Netherlands University of Cambridge, UK Howard Spiegler Dick Drent Attorney, Herrick, Feinstein LLP, US Director of Security, the Van Gogh Museum, The Netherlands Design & Layout Urška Charney Head of Design, ARCA © 2018 Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, and only as permitted under the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Acts, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the Publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (www.copyright.com). 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Cover Design and Illustration: Urška Charney Printed by Amazon ISSN (PDF): 1947-5934 ISSN (Print): 1947-5926 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Editor 1 ACADEMIC ARTICLES The Impact of Human Error: How it Places Under Scrutiny the International 3 Art Market and Disrupts the Natural Pace of Academic Scholarship: An Exercise in Provenance Research Angelina Giovani Art Destruction During the Swiss Reformation 15 Carlos Eire Thangkas, Archives and Repatriation 25 Rebecca Elaine Hatcher From Linz to Washington to Berlin: The Washington Principles in Context 43 Ori Z Soltes A Note in Favour of Clear Standards 55 Evelien Campfens ARCA PUBLICATIONS PREVIEW Interfaces and the Illicit Art Trade 65 Edgar Tijhuis REGULAR COLUMNS Lessons from the History of Art Crime 79 “The Washington Principles Have Been a Failure” Noah Charney Context Matters 83 “Thefts from Museums and Archaeological Stores” David W. J. Gill EDITORIAL ESSAYS The Washington Principles Revisited (1998-2018) 87 Marc Masurovsky The Washington Principles 20 Years On: What Do They Mean for New Zealand? 93 Louisa Gommans Theft: A Real Threat to Religious Heritage 95 Paul Denton and John Kleberg REVIEWS Joost de Jonge reviews 99 Exhibition Review: ‘Drawn in Colour’ at the National Gallery, London Robert Switzer reviews 103 The Scientist and the Forger: Probing a Turbulent Art World Jehane Ragai Ruben van Dijk reviews 105 The Art of Forgery Noah Charney EXTRAS Noah Charney interviews Philippe Costamagna 107 Acknowledgements 109 Contributor Biographies 115 Letter from the Editor Welcome to the twentieth issue of the Journal of Art Crime! We’re beginning to focus on thematic issues, and this one comes out just in time to reflect on the 20th anniversary of the Washington Principles on what to do about Nazi-looted art claims. Suffice it to say that reception on the subject has been mixed, with most scholars considering the Principles to be well-meaning but inadequate, and with only politicos applauding their efforts, but with no real, legal benefit emerging to help victims. But this is a lively debate, and we are pleased to be engaged in it. The thematic focus of this issue covers roughly one-third of the material featured, so the rest of the issue is as varied as you have come to expect. We likewise feature a Young Scholar’s work and are also integrating a new section. ARCA is launching a book publishing wing, with plans to release 4-5 books each year, beginning in 2019. The books will, of course, be academic or trade non-fiction works on art crime, of the sort we have already published ourselves (The Thefts of the Mona Lisa, 2011) or published through established publishing houses (Art & Crime: Exploring the Dark Side of the Art World, Praeger 2009, and Art Crime: Terrorists, Tomb Raiders, Forgers and Thieves, Palgrave 2016). The first batch of books will include: Transnational Crime and the Illicit Art and Antiquities Trade by Edgar Tijhuis, The Caravaggio Diaries by Father Marius Zerafa, How To Steal from the Louvre by Noah Charney, Cultural Diplomacy in Italy for the Return of Cultural Heritage in Exile by Stefano Alessandrini and Context Matters by David Gill. We are also planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for scholarships for participants interested in our Postgraduate Professional Development Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection. We hope that you’ll keep an eye out for it and consider telling potentially interested colleagues about it, to support a good cause. As always, thank you for your support and happy reading! Noah Charney Founder, ARCA Co-Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Art Crime www.artcrimeresearch.org 1 www.artcrimeresearch.org Academic articles The Impact of Human Error: How it Places Under Scrutiny the International Art Market and Disrupts the Natural Pace of Academic Scholarship: An Exercise in Provenance Research Angelina Giovani Abstract he purpose of this research is to illustrate, through a multifaceted case study, the importance that a group of missing paintings can have when viewed from both an academic perspective as well as from a socio-economical, art market angle. By trying to identify and trace 24 paintings by British artists which form part of a post-WWII claim, I will undertake to place them both within the historical context of the scholarship they occupy, as well as explore what their unprovenanced circulation means for the art market. The list itself is merely a means to illustrate the Tvarious obstacles that come up when conducting research of this type, as many years to come will need to be allocated to researching this case. Nevertheless, it is important to note and understand that no matter the size or the value of the work, each single piece occupies a unique place in the history of art. Our focus on researching larger, more famous and more valuable works of art is bound to have a permanent effect on the discipline of art history as a whole. The second goal was to bring attention to the issue of provenance research as a whole. How do International Art Fairs and Exhibitions address the issue of provenance? This is a small reminder that whatever measures we have taken so far are simply not enough. The objects appearing at fairs are among the most exquisite in the world. For most of us it is probably the only chance we will get to stand in front of famous and rare artworks that are part of private collections are rarely displayed publicly. While the search for the British paintings continues, we have to contribute to the creation of a culture of transparency and collaboration between the academic world and the art market which so far seem to inhabit very separate places in modern history. Keywords: Wildenstein, Roger Dequoy, Nazi-looted art, U-boats, ERR, Second World War, art fairs. www.artcrimeresearch.org 3 “Amid the destruction left by WWII, mere possessions, process of research and tried to compare his experience with even valuable paintings, meant relatively little. Millions were his restitution battle to that of his father’s, who had started dead; millions more were displaced and scattered to the winds looking for his family’s collection right after the war.5 There as refugees and stateless people, including many of his own seemed to be an agreement that involving lawyers from the family members. Europe lay in ruins, its cities damaged or very early stages of the restitution process made it extremely destroyed, its communications and transportation networks in expensive and therefore discouraging to pursue. The instances chaos, many of its people starving. In the midst of all that, a where people can do their own research and get results are few few pretty canvases were perhaps insignificant.” and Simon’s success in recovering some of his family’s lost property, in not the norm. Not everyone can afford the process -Simon Goodman, The Orpheus Clock and outsourcing it to a third party can be just as challenging.