Labeling Misappropriated Nazi-Era Art: Issues with Compelling Signage at New York Museums

By Sophia Williams

From 1933 to 1945, during the Nazi party’s rise to power, the Nazis looted, confiscated, or involuntarily transferred more than half a million artworks owned by Jewish art collectors and other victims.^[1] Following Nazi party looting before and after World War II, thousands of artworks ended up in museum collections around the world, including in New York, and remain there today.^[2] A recent act passed in August 2022 “to amend the education law, in relation to notice of art stolen during the Nazi era in Europe” (the “2022 Act”) mandated New York State museum transparency for art involuntarily transferred from owners during the Nazi era.^[3] The amended statute, N.Y. Educ. Law § 233-aa (the “Statute”) does so by requiring museums to display this provenance history through a physical notice accompanying the exhibition of the artwork.^[4] However, the law presents several challenges in defining what artworks it covers, what behaviors museums must adopt to identify artworks in compliance with the Statute, and whether it may unconstitutionally conflict with museums’ First Amendment rights.

According to the 2022 Act:

“Every museum which has on display any identifiable works of art known to have been created before nineteen hundred forty-five and which changed hands due to theft, seizure, confiscation, forced sale or other involuntary means in Europe during the Nazi era (nineteen hundred thirty three—nineteen hundred forty-five) shall, to the extent practicable, prominently place a placard or other signage acknowledging such information along with such display.”^[5]