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.
SCP Team
Germany: Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte | PD Dr. Christian Fuhrmeister, Dr. Stephan Klingen, Anne Uhrlandt MA, Mareike Schwarz BA
Israel: The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism | Prof. Dr. Manuela Consonni, Dr. Amit Varshizky
Canada: Prof. Dr. Catherine MacKenzie, Department of Art History, Faculty of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal
Project partners & supporters
SCP is a project of the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich, in cooperation with The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Faculty of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal; and the Max and Iris Stern Foundation, Montreal.
SCP is endorsed by the National Gallery of Canada | Musée des beaux-arts du Canada; Haifa Museums of Art, McCord Museum Montreal, Musée des Beaux-Arts Montreal, The Israel Museum Jerusalem, Leo Baeck Institute New York.
SCP is funded by the Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste and the Max and Iris Stern Foundation, Montreal.
Call for Information
Institutions and individuals are being asked to provide information to the SCP regarding the Stern Family, their galleries and artworks.
Please contact:
Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte
Stern Cooperation Project
Anne Uhrlandt | Project Coordination scp@zikg.eu
Tel. +49 (0)89 289 27 596
Katharina-von-Bora-Str. 10
80333 München Germany www.zikg.eu
Duration
1.7.2018-30.6.2019 (initial phase)
