The German-Jewish Art Dealer Family Julius, Selma, Hedy and Max Stern, and the History of the Stern Gallery, 1913-1987. Reconstructing fragmented Family and Business Records through international cooperation: The Stern Cooperation Project (SCP)

Description

In July 2018, the initial phase of the „Stern Cooperation Project (SCP)“ started. The international project is focused on the history of the German art dealer family of Jewish origin Julius, Selma, Max, Hedi and Gerda Stern and on the business history of the Stern-owned galleries Galerie Stern (Düsseldorf), West‘s Galleries (London), and Dominion Gallery (Montreal) in the years 1913-1987.

SCP thus enters terrain that has been the research field of the Max Stern Art Restitution Project (MSARP) since 2002. While MSARP – piloted by Dr. Clarence Epstein and Dr. Willi Korte – focusses on the return of individual art works that had been looted, SCP has a much broader mission: In transnational transdisciplinary cooperation, SCP attempts to reconstruct forced migration of both family and business. It provides strategies that aid researchers who face similar challenges in reconstructing trajectories of persecution as they affect individuals and enterprises. It is inevitable, however, that the findings of SCP intersect with provenance questions of the art world in relation to Nazi looted art, and specifically with the concerns of MSARP.

Call for Information

Institutions and individuals are being asked to provide information to the SCP regarding the Stern Family, their galleries and artworks.