Terms of Art: Understanding the Mechanics of Dispossession During the Nazi Period

The Department of Financial Services’ Holocaust Claims Processing Office is hosting the first New York State symposium for practitioners in the field of art restitution to explore the methods of involuntary loss from a historical, art historical and practical basis.

Our aim is to inform and guide future discussions about the disparate views on these historical events and how a common understanding of these terms can effectively contribute to resolving claims in a more consistent and expeditious manner.

• Participants at the symposium will include claimant representatives, attorneys, members of the art trade, cultural institutions, provenance researchers, historians and art historians.
• The symposium will include expert paper presentations and panel-led discussions.
• Following the symposium, papers will be published as a free online book.
• The goal of the online publication is to further the dialogue concerning this issue and promote greater understanding about the mechanics of dispossession.