Choice Review

Investigation into art provenance can be a most difficult and complex part of art research. Establishing a work's ownership history is not easy, as documents or oral information are often lost, unavailable, forged, or nonexistent. Confidentiality or secrecy often surrounds the transfer of a work of art from one hand to another, and buyers and sellers are often loath to reveal their sources. It is often difficult to know what sources are available for research and where to begin. To be sure, "what-to" examples are available in the entries of catalogues raisonnes and curatorial and registrars' files, but the "how-to" is usually learned through much trial and error, even when supplemented by oral information from teachers, mentors, or other colleagues. This publication is welcome, for it is devoted to what general publications on art research could only discuss in relatively small sections. The material is divided into two large parts covering basic provenance research and principles and Holocaust-era provenance research, where so much attention is being directed today. This work is invaluable for the specialized area of provenance research and is highly recommended for all academic and museum collections serving researchers and upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. J. Weidman Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art