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vast amounts of art, much of it from Jewish families. Most is believed to
remain in Europe today, although sales of stolen artwork may have brought
some of the plunder to American museums. 

In the past, museums didn't always seek out detailed ownership histories
from donors or dealers, or that information wasn't readily available,
Steward said. But beginning in the 1990s, museums across the country have
become more sensitive to the issue of potentially looted artwork, often
hiring specialists to track the history of their art. 

UMMA hired Bay Warren, a specialist who pursued the artworks' histories like
a detective. Her research was conducted on a case-by-case basis, but it
often followed the same pattern: finding out how the museum acquired the
work, contacting the dealers or donors or their heirs, seeking information
with historical societies, and consulting archives, genealogies and
catalogue materials. 

"It's a lot of investigative reporting,'' she said. 

In several cases, the project allowed UMMA to more definitively date the
creation of an artwork. One example is "The Digby Children,'' a portrait of
two children by the English artist John Hoppner. Because of the
investigation, the museum was able to narrow the painting's origin to a
10-year period, from 1795 to 1804, rather than the previous 32-year period.
The museum discovered the birthdates of the children, and drew conclusions
based on their appearances. 

In another case, the painting "The Young Girl Knitting,'' by the French
impressionist Camille Pissarro, was found to have been owned for a time by
one of his family members, a significant detail which increases its historic
value. 

In 2003, the American Association of Museums created an Internet portal to
help heirs identify potentially stolen work. 

UMMA has listed 73 paintings and 41 sculptures with the Nazi-Era Provenance
Internet Portal (www.nepip.org) because they had gaps in their wartime
ownership histories, though the listing doesn't mean the objects were
tainted. UMMA has not received any or claims, or even inquiries, regarding
those works, Steward said. 

Reporter Dave Gershman can be reached at 734-994-6818 or
dgershman at annarbornews.com