Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London
SW2 7RL
I am the Senior Provenance Research Curator (supported by the Polonsky Foundation) at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
From 2018-2022, I was the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Provenance and Spoliation Curator at the V&A. My research focused on the provenance of the Gilbert Collection, one of the world’s most important collections of works of decorative art. I co-curated ‘Concealed Histories: Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting’, the first special provenance display of its kind by a UK museum.
I serve as a member of the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC) Spoliation Working Group, which co-ordinates provenance research efforts at UK museums with respect to the Nazi period.
I am also a member of the Arts Council England (ACE) restitution working group, which advises on the development on new guidance for the UK museum sector with respect to Colonial-era artefacts.
Before joining the V&A in 2018, I was a researcher at the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, a not-for-profit organisation which recovers property looted under the Nazis.
I hold a DPhil in History from the University of Oxford, where I was co-director of the War Crimes Research Network at The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH). I studied Modern History at the Humboldt University Berlin and Somerville College, Oxford.
The Provenance Detective, Virginia Quarterly Review
Ancient gold ewer returned to Turkey after V&A expert links it to illicit antiquities trade, The Art Newspaper
A 4,250-Year-Old Vase in the V&A Collection With Ties to the Illegal Art Trade Has Been Restituted to Turkey, Artnet news
In returning an ancient gold ewer to Turkey, the UK’s Gilbert Trust made the right decision, The Art Newspaper
V&A hope to reunite families with art stolen by the Nazis as museum becomes first in UK to hire provenance expert, Daily Telegraph
The Spoils of War, Museums Journal
Who owned these Jewish-owned treasures? V&A seeks clues from public, The Art Newspaper
NS-Raubkunst: ‘Viele Sammler sind auf einem Auge Blind…’, Die Welt
Il Victoria & Albert Museum mette in mostra l’arte depredata, Il Sole 24 Ore
Uncovering the Stories of Nazi-Looted Art, The Epoch Times
Sleuthing Out the Secret History of Stolen Art, National Review
Interview with the V&A’s Provenance and Spoliation Curator, TheArtLawLover.com
Alles nur geklaut. Notizen zu aktuellen Debatten über die Restitution kolonialen Raubgutes, Neues Deutschland
How Nazi-looted treasures ended up in a Jewish-owned collection, Jewish News