Provenance Research

We adhere to the International Council of Museums’ (ICOM) Code of Ethics, which include a clear commitment to proactive investigation of the provenance of works in our collections. The Washington Principles of 1998, along with subsequent declarations, have been signed by Norway, and therefore also provide ethical directions for MUNCH.

Provenance of the MUNCH collections is generally simpler than is the case for many other museums’ collections. Despite a few works in the original Munch Collection not coming directly from Edvard Munch’s bequest to the City of Oslo, the vast majority of the works have never been owned by anyone other than Munch himself. However, there are several works in the Stenersen Collection that still have incomplete or unclear provenance.

Lack of information 

Rolf E. Stenersen donated his collection to Aker municipality, later Oslo municipality, in 1936. The collection came without clear provenance details or acquisition documentation. The gift to Aker municipality was made under the condition that a home would be built for the collection. When this did not happen, Stenersen partially managed the collection until his death, and added works to it. He also continued to exhibit the works himself long after 1936. We still lack significant information about the collection and the artworks, including provenance documentation as well as other data in our collection archive.

It is unsatisfactory not to have full overview of the ownership history of the artworks in our collection. At the same time, this is a situation faced by many museums internationally, often with more complex cases. Consequently, many museums in recent years have established specialised departments dedicated to provenance research, including the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Belvedere Museum and Albertina Museum in Vienna, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Kunstmuseum Basel. No Norwegian museums have done the same. 

Works with incomplete provenance

At MUNCH, we have continuously worked on the provenance of our own collection. We also act as a source of expertise when contacted by private individuals or museums needing to clarify the provenance of their own works, and whom we can assist because of our unique knowledge of Munch and his artistry. Nevertheless, there are still several works with incomplete provenance that we have not been able to clarify on our own:

RES.A.00074 Edvard Munch, Max Linde in Sailing Outfit, 1904.

This work was owned by Max Linde until 1925, and then by the Städtisches Museum in Breslau (today Wrocław in Western Poland) until 1938, when it was confiscated by the German state. The work was then purchased by Harald Holst Halvorsen and later by Stenersen that same year. We do not know the circumstances of Halvorsen’s acquisition after it was removed from the museum in Breslau. No ownership claims have been made for this work.

RES.A.00219 Edvard Munch, Harry Graf Kessler, 1906.

This work has no history of ownership prior to 1939, when Stenersen purchased it at the City Auction in Oslo. This is the same auction where History was sold by Florence Flersheim, but in this case, we do not know the seller. No ownership claims have been made for this work.

RES.A.00012 Edvard Munch, Winter Landscape from Kragerø, 1910.

This work was purchased by the Jewish collector Alfred Flechtheim at Kunstverein Barmen in 1912 and sold at auction in 1917 to an unknown buyer. By 1936, the work had become part of the Stenersen Collection. We know that it was exhibited in Leipzig in 1929 and was then privately owned by a person in Hamburg. However, we do not know who the owner after Alfred Flechtheim was, nor do we know the circumstances of Stenersen’s acquisition in the 1930s. No ownership claims have been made for this work.

RES.A.00315 Edvard Munch, History, 1913.

This work was purchased by Martin Flersheim in 1914, in connection with Munch’s exhibition in Frankfurt, and remained in the family collection until 1939, when it was sold at the City Auction in Oslo. It is presumed that the buyer was Blomqvist Kunsthandel, which sold the painting to Stenersen later that same year. It is unclear to what extent the sale of the work by Flersheim occurred under duress, and a dialogue is ongoing with representatives on behalf of the Flersheims’ descendants.

We acknowledge that a thorough and systematic review of the entire Stenersen Collection has not been carried out since the collection catalogue was compiled by Arne Eggum in 1974. This means that there may be more works in the collection with incomplete or unclear provenance than these four. 

Strengthen historical research of the collections

We recognise our responsibility to establish a complete provenance for the collection, even though it requires resources and may lead us to reassess our own right to ownership. We are now conducting a comprehensive survey of the entire Stenersen Collection, and we will reach out internationally for information about the works whose ownership history is not fully established. Furthermore, we are reviewing how art historical research of the collections can be strengthened, after many years of being deprioritised. MUNCH is an art museum, and with that comes clear obligations. As the understanding of ownership, expectations of proactive research, and the ethical basis for both posing and answering questions continually evolve, so too must we. 

MUNCH welcomes any information that would augment or clarify the provenance of works in our collection: Contact us.