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Spoliation reports

This institution also provides a list of works with incomplete provenance during the period 1933-1945.

TYNE AND WEAR MUSEUMS

Discovery Museum
Blandford Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4JA

Contact for all enquiries about Holocaust or WWII Spoliation:
Lucinda Bewick
Documentation Officer
tel. 0191 232 6789
email: lucinda.bewick@twmuseums.org.uk

General Description of the Collection

Tyne and Wear Museums possesses some 11,375 paintings, 10,500 prints 154 sculptures and collections of ceramics, metalwork and furniture, natural history, geology, archaeology, maritime history, science and industry.

1. OVERALL PLANS (GENERAL)

A. Areas which could contain looted items
Potentially all fine and decorative art items created before 1945 and acquired by the relevant donor or testator after January 1933.

B. Areas excluded and why
Works acquired by donor or testator before 1933.
Works created after 1945.
Works with an exclusively British provenance.
Non fine and decorative art items

C. Target areas: prioritisation
Examination of the paintings and associated archival records indicate that it is exceedingly unlikely that TWM possesses items, which may have been the subject of spoliation in the period 1933-1945. However, a number of paintings were listed for further research which has now been completed.

D. Areas considered low priority
The print collection. Mostly low value reproduction prints.

2. AREAS RESEARCHED
Initial research concentrated on the paintings housed at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne and the Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead. This was then extended to the applied art collections held in the Laing Art Gallery Newcastle.

3. INFORMATION REGARDING COMPLETED RESEARCH IN THE TARGET AREAS

TWM has identified twenty paintings in its collections for which there are gaps in provenance. No obvious applied art items qualify for inclusion in the list of potential spoliation items.

The Paintings Collection

PROGRESS REPORT

1. Research into the provenance of all the paintings in the collection has now been completed. It is exceedingly unlikely that any of the paintings were subject to spoliation in the specified period. Initial research was undertaken using readily available sources, including published Gallery catalogues, acquisition records and material collected in individual object files.

2. Phase two of our research has now been completed. This involved checking published sources, contacting dealers and auction houses, conducting further archival research and consultation with organisations benefiting from specialist knowledge of spoliation of works of art during the Holocaust and WWII period.

4. INFORMATION ON MAKING GENERAL ENQUIRIES

A. Contact for all enquiries about Holocaust or WWII Spoliation
Lucinda Bewick
Documentation Officer
tel. 0191 232 6789
email: lucinda.bewick@twmuseums.org.uk

B. Sources of information, archives and means of access
Internal databases of the complete collection of paintings (some with digitised images) and drawings are held on MODES for Windows databases. Published catalogues exist for parts of the collection. Archival material may be consulted by appointment.

C. How to make general enquiries
Initial enquiries may be made in writing, by telephone or email. See A and E.

D. Press office 
Sheryl McGregor
Communications Manager
tel. 0191 232 6789
email: sheryl.mcgregor@twmuseums.org.uk

E. Tyne & Wear Museums
Discovery Museum
Blandford Square
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4JA

F. Website
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk