Austrian Press Agency (APA) (02/23/2009)
Outstanding development through the discovery of valuable archives at the Federal Historic Preservation Agency – since 2009 its own journal series on provenance research
Vienna – The Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture has posted a report on restitution 2007 on its website. Werner Fürsinn, head of the Commission for Provenance Research, together with researchers from individual institutions, have processed 150 applications by NS victims and their families regarding the fate of art works. In twenty-two cases, the restitution advisory board expressed recommendations for return of the works.
Five cases pertained to the Technical Museum of Vienna, four to the Belvedere Palace and the Museum of Ethnology, two to the Museum of Art History, two to the Museum of Theater and Museum of Applied Art/Contemporary Art (MAK). Outstanding developments have taken place regarding the research of restitution in Austria during year 2007, among other things, through the discovery of a valuable archive of files in the Federal Historical Preservation Agency, which since that time has been digitalized. At a workshop at the Technical Museum, a team attempted in March 2007 to match the sources of provenance research with methods and concepts. Also in 2007 Clemens Jabloner replaced Brigitte Böck as chairman of the restitution’s advisory board.
In the meantime, the Commission for Provenance Research began publishing a series of articles - the first volume of which - entitled, “….considerably more cases than had been assumed” (2009) - containd an introduction into the most recent research being conducted between legal and art experts, as well as its development in Austria since 1998.
See: http://www.bmukk.gv.at/medienpool/17679/restitutionsbericht_2007.pdf