Origins Unknown Agency
The objects that were given into the custody of the Dutch State formed the collection entitled the Netherlands Art Property collection (‘NK collection’ from the Dutch ‘Nederlands Kunstbezit’). It was only in 1997 that furore about the status of the NK collection erupted in the media, under the influence of the debate about Jewish gold in Swiss banks. State Secretary Aad Nuis commissioned a trial investigation into the provenance of the works in the NK collection by means of a random selection. This investigation, carried out by the Ekkart Committee, led to a devastating judgement concerning the manner in which the SNK had dealt with the claims after the war. The Committee characterised the SNK as 'legalistic, bureaucratic, cold and often, even heartless'. One of its recommendations was that the Dutch government should relax significantly the restitution policy as it had hitherto been applied.
Based on the report, the Cabinet decided that there had to be a detailed investigation. In 1998, the Origins Unknown Agency started its work, with the aim of clarifying the war history of the NK collection and locating the rightful owners. The provenance of the objects was reconstructed, with the help of the SNK records and all other available and relevant sources. This was extremely comprehensive and systematically carried out detective work, in which all the retrievable details were assembled. The investigation lasted until 2004. The last two years have been spent completing and studying the results in depth. The investigation has been recorded in six interim reports, published from 1999 onwards. These can be consulted on the website: www.herkomstgezocht.nl.
The Ekkart Committee was also tasked with advising the government on the appropriate restitution policy. The Committee's suggestions for a liberalised restitution policy have made the conditions for returning works of art much more flexible. If someone lodges a claim in writing with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), the case will be presented to the Restitutions Committee. More than forty claims have been lodged so far, more than half of which have been settled already, with almost every case leading to restitution. The other claims are being processed, and new claims are lodged every month. The current, liberalised government policy is valid until 4 April 2007. Until that time, interested parties may lodge a claim with the Minister of Education, Culture and Science.
The claims that led to restitution together include nearly 500 artworks from the NK collection. One of the most notorious claims was made by the heirs of art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, which led to the restitution of about 200 works in 2006. A second large claim was made by the heirs of the collector Gutmann and was sustained in 2002. Many of the other restitutions concern one or just a few artworks.
This exhibition marks the closure of the Origins Unknown Agency investigation. Special attention is given to the many questions that could only partially, or simply could not, be answered during the investigation.
