Unpacking Modigliani: Discovering the Travels of Portrait de Femme

Overview

Curious about the travels and owners of a single painting throughout time? Eager to learn more about the importance of provenance and the research process involved? Join us as we take you through the archival discoveries that established ownership over the lifetime of one painting, Amadeo Modigliani’s Portrait de Femme, led by Associate Provenance Researcher Renée Stokesbury.

In 2022, the Denver Art Museum established a dedicated provenance research department that spans object research from antiquities to the modern era, with staff knowledgeable in the areas of art law, restitution processes, and global impacts of Nazi-era works and other objects of cultural patrimony that are part of private and public collections. Museums worldwide struggle with resources that make this research possible, and the DAM is leading the way in prioritizing provenance for collections throughout every curatorial department.

With Renée’s expertise in Nazi-era wartime looting, you’ll gain insight into bad actors involved in WW II art thefts and those responsible for returning objects to their rightful owners by the end of the war. Then learn about the tools available to provenance researchers in establishing clear ownership throughout the lifetime of an object while following a Modigliani work from creation to its final home here at the Denver Art Museum.