On September 28, 2024, at 1 p.m., the Museum will host a Dynamic Conversation on Nazi-era art and restitution with distinguished experts Richard Aronowitz, Christie’s Global Head of Restitution, and Eileen Brankovic, Christie’s International Business Director of Restitution, moderated by Elaine Mehalakes, Vice President of Curatorial Affairs at the AAM. Together they will delve into the history and scholarship of art restitution, shedding light on the complexities and significance of addressing the injustices of the past. The talk is offered in conjunction with the special display Art in the Nazi Period: Two Paintings’ Trajectories, which is on view in Kress Gallery from August 28 through October 20, 2024.
Meet the experts:
Richard Aronowitz
Richard Aronowitz is Global Head of Restitution at Christie’s and a member of the UK Government’s Advisory Group on Spoliation Matters. He began his career in the art world as a furniture porter at Bonhams in 1993, then joined Sotheby’s as an Impressionist & Modern Art specialist in 1997, before leaving to become Director of the Ben Uri Gallery in 2003. He re-joined Sotheby’s as European Head of Restitution in 2006, then moved to Christie’s in March 2022 as Global Head of Restitution. Richard is the author of the novels Five Amber Beads, It’s Just the Beating of my Heart, An American Decade, and Night Comes Down (forthcoming from Guernica Editions in 2025), as well as a book of poetry, Life Lessons.
Eileen Brankovic
Eileen Brankovic joined Christie’s in 2012, after studying law and with extensive auction experience. After eight years with Impressionist and Modern Art, Americas, she moved to Restitution as International Business Director. Ms. Brankovic is responsible for delivering on Christie’s Restitution’s mission 1) to ensure that Christie’s does not knowingly sell spoliated but unrestituted art works, 2) to research provenance, expanding scholarship around the history of collecting and the art market, and 3) to provide Christie’s services to members of the Restitution community.
Ms. Brankovic oversees the team of provenance researchers. Located in New York, London, Berlin, Brussels, and Vienna, Christie’s team of researchers have more than one hundred combined years of experience. Christie’s has the largest and most experienced Restitution team of any international auction house, underscoring its responsibility to this field, making Nazi-era provenance research a hallmark of its expertise and inextricably a part of the art historical framework.
You can reserve your seat at this event by clicking the button below. AAM Members receive priority seating.