Provenance Research

Provenance Research Project

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is participating in the nationwide effort to identify works of art that may have been illegally confiscated from their rightful owners by the Nazi regime during World War II. Committed to the responsible stewardship of its collection, the museum is conducting in-depth provenance research on a number of paintings in the permanent collection, in compliance with the guidelines issued by the American Association of Museums in 1999 and 2001.

Beyond the Surface: The Art of Handmade Paper
Andrea Morales: Roll Down Like Water
Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium
In the Moment: Art from the 1950s to Now
Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)
Art of the African Diaspora
Power and Absence: Women in Europe: 1500-1680
Art Builds Creativity 2023 - 2024
2024 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards
Inspired Aging: Wellness and Creative Courage
Starry, Starry, Winter Garden
Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium
Calida Rawles: Away with the Tides
Suchitra Mattai: with abundance we meet
Remembering the Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020
Summer Art Garden: Creatures of Paradise
Christian Siriano: People Are People
The Human Zoo by Kent Monkman
China Blues: The World in Blue and White
Black American Portraits
List of paintings
Provenance Research ProjectProvenance Research Project
'Balthazar, from an altarpiece depicting the Adoration of the Magi,' Unknown Artist (Netherlandish (probably Antwerp), ca. 1515

Provenance Research

Provenance Research Project

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is participating in the nationwide effort to identify works of art that may have been illegally confiscated from their rightful owners by the Nazi regime during World War II. Committed to the responsible stewardship of its collection, the museum is conducting in-depth provenance research on a number of paintings in the permanent collection, in compliance with the guidelines issued by the American Association of Museums in 1999 and 2001.

Beyond the Surface: The Art of Handmade Paper
Andrea Morales: Roll Down Like Water
Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium
In the Moment: Art from the 1950s to Now
Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)
Art of the African Diaspora
Power and Absence: Women in Europe: 1500-1680
Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium
Starry, Starry, Winter Garden
Calida Rawles: Away with the Tides
Suchitra Mattai: with abundance we meet
Remembering the Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020
Summer Art Garden: Creatures of Paradise
China Blues: The World in Blue and White
Christian Siriano: People Are People
Sense-ational!: The Art of the Five Senses
Art Builds Creativity 2022 - 2023
Black American Portraits
Tommy Kha: Eye is Another
2023 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards
The Human Zoo by Kent Monkman
Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak's Designs for Opera and Ballet
Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative
Persevere and Resist: The Strong Black Women of Elizabeth Catlett
Ofrendas: Día de los Muertos Altars
Brooks Outside: Evanescent
Another Dimension: Digital Art in Memphis
Henry Ossawa Tanner: The Thankful Poor
Decorative Arts Trust: A 35th Anniversary Exhibition
Hassan Hajjaj: My Rock Stars
Brooks Outside: RedBall Memphis
Wonder, Whimsy, Wild: Folk Art in America
Rotunda Projects: Yinka Shonibare MBE
Veda Reed: Day into Night
Red Grooms: Traveling Correspondent
2017 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards
Brooks Outside: Tape Art
A Feast for the Eyes: 200 Years of American Still-Life Painting from the Hevrdejs Collection
100 Gifts for 100 Years
Coming to America: Lachaise, Laurent, Nadelman, and Zorach, 1914 - 1945
Georgia O'Keeffe: Visions of Hawai'i
2019 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards
American Haiku: The Woodcuts of Ted Faiers
Bouguereau & America
Rotunda Projects: Federico Uribe
Painted Words: Poets and Painters in Print, 1869 – 1967
Natural Curiosity: Beth Van Hoesen
Renditions with Terry Adkins: Native Son (Circus)
Play Station
Ernest C. Withers: Baseball Photographs
Albrecht Dürer's "Small Passion" Series
Photography in Memphis
Claire Van Vliet: Illustrating Babel
2020 Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards
Native Voices, 1950s to Now: Art for a New Understanding
A Journey Towards Self-Definition: African American Artists in the Permanent Collection
Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition 2021
Brooks Outside: Pour Me Another
Faig Ahmed: Secret Garden
Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards and Exhibition
Rotunda Projects: Monika Grzymala
Paradise Lost: Albrecht Dürer's Stolen Eden
Ke Francis and Hoopsnake Press
Andy Warhol's Little Red Book
Memphis Artists in Real Time
Andy Warhol: Silver Clouds
Dia de los Muertos: Student Altar Exhibition
Mona Hatoum: Misbah
On Christopher Street: Transgender Portraits by Mark Seliger
List of paintings
Provenance Research Project
'Balthazar, from an altarpiece depicting the Adoration of the Magi,' Unknown Artist (Netherlandish (probably Antwerp), ca. 1515

Part I: September 20 - December 15, 2024 | Part II: December 20, 2024 - April 6 2025

Beyond the Surface: The Art of Handmade Paper

More than just a surface on which to paint, draw, or sketch, paper can be a dynamic art form that encourages collaboration and welcomes spontaneity. 'Beyond the Surface: The Art of Handmade Paper' explores the shape-shifting quality of paper—how it can transform from pulpy fiber into vibrant works of art through hand papermaking.

More than just a surface on which to paint, draw, or sketch, paper can be a dynamic art form that encourages collaboration and welcomes spontaneity. 'Beyond the Surface: The Art of Handmade Paper' explores the shape-shifting quality of paper—how it can transform from pulpy fiber into vibrant works of art through hand papermaking.

Learn More
Beth Campbell, 'Endless Outcomes', 2017. Abaca, pigmented linen and cotton on handmade paper, 18 x 14 3/4 in. (45.7 x 37.5 cm). Gift of Dieu Donné, New York in honor of Nancy and Edwin Barnett.
Beth Campbell, 'Endless Outcomes', 2017. Abaca, pigmented linen and cotton on handmade paper, 18 x 14 3/4 in. (45.7 x 37.5 cm). Gift of Dieu Donné, New York in honor of Nancy and Edwin Barnett.

September 2024 - January 2025

Andrea Morales: Roll Down Like Water

'Roll Down Like Water' features sixty-five photographs spanning a decade of work by the Memphis-based, Peruvian-American photographer Andrea Morales. Through her captivating images of the South in moments of turbulence, stillness, darkness, and beauty, Morales charts new paths in sustainable journalism, while reflecting upon identity, community, and the power of storytelling.

Learn More
Andrea Morales, Kaylin McCain and Jakayla Davis wait for their grandmother to sign up for the Affordable Care Act at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood, in February 2015.
Andrea Morales, Kaylin McCain and Jakayla Davis wait for their grandmother to sign up for the Affordable Care Act at Impact Baptist Church in Frayser, a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood, in February 2015.

Part I: November 17, 2023 – December 1, 2024

Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium

Pennsylvania-based artist Thomas Jackson (b. 1971; Philadelphia) harnesses the wind and lightweight fabrics to create ethereal works of art that blur the boundaries between landscape photography, sculpture, and kinetic art. 

Learn More
Thomas Jackson, 'Chaotic Equilibrium'. Photo Credit: Lucy Garrett.
Thomas Jackson, 'Chaotic Equilibrium'. Photo Credit: Lucy Garrett.

Ongoing

In the Moment: Art from the 1950s to Now

Contemporary art can capture the political and cultural essence of our time while contemplating and transcending our everyday realities. As time passes, this art connects us with the defining spirit of an era, becoming a visual record of a moment.

Learn More
Rashid Johnson, 'Seascape "Milestones"', 2022 Oil on linen; 95 × 122 in. From the collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde
Rashid Johnson, 'Seascape "Milestones"', 2022 Oil on linen; 95 × 122 in. From the collection of Pitt and Barbara Hyde

Ongoing

Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)

To further build Memphis' Art Collection, the Brooks has commissioned the Memphis-based artist Carl E. Moore to create a work inspired by our soon-to-be new location Downtown on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Learn More
Carl E. Moore, 'Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)', 2022. Acrylic on canvas.
Carl E. Moore, 'Memphis on the Mississippi (Ode to Tom Lee)', 2022. Acrylic on canvas.

Ongoing

Art of the African Diaspora

As conversations around the African Diaspora shift and evolve, so too will this display, aided by the museum actively acquiring works that reflect these varied, global experiences.

Learn More

Ongoing

Power and Absence

This reimagining of the Schilling Gallery explores the representation of women in Europe from around 1500 to 1680, known as the Renaissance and Early Baroque period. Most of the works in this room have been made by men.

Learn More
Sofonisba Anguissola, 'Self-Portrait', 1560, oil on wood panel, Memphis Park Commission Purchase, 43.11
Sofonisba Anguissola, 'Self-Portrait', 1560, oil on wood panel, Memphis Park Commission Purchase, 43.11
No exhibitions were found

October 14, 2017 - January 7, 2018

Coming to America: Lachaise, Laurent, Nadelman, and Zorach

The sculptures of Gaston Lachaise, Robert Laurent, Elie Nadelman and William Zorach embody the vitality and vision of four modern artists who—arriving as immigrants in the United States from the growing turbulence of pre-war Europe—responded to the challenges and excitement of American life with extraordinary creativity.

Learn More
Gaston Lachaise, United States, born France, 1882-1935, Standing Woman, 1912-1927, Bronze, 72 x 28 x 17 (including bronze base), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of R. Sturgis and Marion B.F. Ingersoll, 1962, 1962-182-1, © Gaston Lachaise Foundation Image Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Gaston Lachaise, United States, born France, 1882-1935, Standing Woman, 1912-1927, Bronze, 72 x 28 x 17 (including bronze base), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of R. Sturgis and Marion B.F. Ingersoll, 1962, 1962-182-1, © Gaston Lachaise Foundation Image Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

June 3 - August 27, 2017

100 Gifts for 100 Years

To mark the Brooks’ 100th anniversary, our dedicated, generous patrons and support groups have gifted the museum more than 100 spectacular works of art. Ranging from ancient coins to contemporary glass, from paintings to quilts, the exhibition will display all of these gifts in glorious profusion.

Learn More
Lino Tagliapetra, Mandara, 2005, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Lino Tagliapetra, Mandara, 2005, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

May 8 - 24, 2017

Brooks Outside: Tape Art

The Rhode Island artist collective Tape Art, known for creating over 500 temporary murals installed around the world, ends our centennial celebration with a massive installation on the Brooks’ façade.

Learn More
A massive 20-day mural made for the Brooks Art Museum, Memphis, TN.
A massive 20-day mural made for the Brooks Art Museum, Memphis, TN.

April 22 - July 30, 2017

A Feast for the Eyes: 200 Years of American Still-Life Painting

Featuring rarely seen works by major American artists—including James Peale, John F. Peto, Thomas Hart Benton, Georgia O’Keeffe and Andrew Wyeth—this exhibition celebrates the history of still-life painting in the United States.

Learn More
Raphaelle Peale, Orange and Book, c. 1817, Oil on canvas, the Frank and Michelle Hevrdejs Collection. Thomas R. Dubrock, photographer.
Raphaelle Peale, Orange and Book, c. 1817, Oil on canvas, the Frank and Michelle Hevrdejs Collection. Thomas R. Dubrock, photographer.

January 28 - February 26, 2017

2017-mid-south-scholastic-art-awards

The Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards is an annual juried student exhibition presented by the Brooks and Brooks Museum League. As an affiliate of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards honors exemplary art by students in seventh through 12th grades.

Learn More
Tram Le, Under Pressure, White Station High School
Tram Le, Under Pressure, White Station High School

October 15, 2016 - January 8, 2017

Red Grooms: Traveling Correspondent

Grooms’s treatment of New York City and Tennessee provides the focus for Red Grooms: Traveling Correspondent. The distinct bodies of work reflect time spent in these radically different environments, specifically those that most define him as a person and an artist.

Learn More
Red Grooms, Rockefeller Center, 1995, Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York
Red Grooms, Rockefeller Center, 1995, Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York

June 18 - September 4, 2016

Veda Reed: Day into Night

This influential Memphis artist was represented by 28 paintings spanning 1956 to 2016. The emphasis was on her recent luminous paintings of night skies populated with moons, clouds, and shimmering light. These poetic images represent what the artist herself feels are the zenith of her career.

Learn More
Vera Reed
Vera Reed

May 26, 2016 – September 4, 2016

Hassan Hajjaj: My Rock Stars

This exhibition showcases Moroccan-born, UK-based art Hassan Hajjaj and the eclectic group of nine musicians from around the world whom the artist sees as his own personal “rock stars.”

Learn More
Hassan Hajjaj, Mr. Toliver, 2010, Collection of the Newark Museum
Hassan Hajjaj, Mr. Toliver, 2010, Collection of the Newark Museum

November 22, 2024 - January 2025

Starry, Starry, Winter Garden

For the museum’s inaugural Winter Art Garden, Memphis-based artist Greely Myatt uses found objects including metal scraps, neon, and discarded signage to create Starry, Starry – an illuminated starscape on the museum’s plaza. Teasing the boundaries of sculpture through the use of flat forms, Myatt ponders and plays with line and light.

Learn More
Big Star, 2023. Photography by Selavie Photography
Big Star, 2023. Photography by Selavie Photography

Part II: December 4, 2024 – April 28, 2025

Thomas Jackson: Chaotic Equilibrium

Pennsylvania-based artist Thomas Jackson (b. 1971, Philadelphia) harnesses the windto create ethereal works that blur the boundaries between landscape photography,sculpture, and kinetic art.

Learn More
Thomas Jackson, Tulle no. 045, Nantucket, Massachusetts, 2022
Thomas Jackson, Tulle no. 045, Nantucket, Massachusetts, 2022

March 19, 2025 - September 7, 2025

Calida Rawles: Away with the Tides

In her first solo museum presentation, Calida Rawles envisions water as a space for Black healing. Merging hyperrealism, poetic abstraction, and water's cultural and historical symbolisms, Rawles creates unique portraits of Black bodies submerged in and interacting with bright and mysterious bodies of water.

Learn More
Calida Rawles, 'Towner for Life', 2024 acrylic on canvas 72 x 102 inches 182.9 x 259.1 cm © Calida Rawles Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Seoul, and London. Photo by Marten Elder
Calida Rawles, 'Towner for Life', 2024 acrylic on canvas 72 x 102 inches 182.9 x 259.1 cm © Calida Rawles Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Seoul, and London. Photo by Marten Elder

May 22, 2025

Suchitra Mattai: with abundance we meet

'with abundance we meet' is an installation made of ‘fruit’ ('phala' in Hindi) sculptures by the artist Suchitra Mattai that are ripe with possibilities, conjuring wombs and fertility spirits.

Learn More
Suchitra Mattai, 'phala' (fruit), 2023. 15 components comprised of vintage saris, rope, and chain, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California; Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.
Suchitra Mattai, 'phala' (fruit), 2023. 15 components comprised of vintage saris, rope, and chain, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, California; Photo: Robert Wedemeyer.

March - December 2026

Remembering the Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020

For eighty-four years, the Memphis College of Art offered a rigorous arts education to students from across the country and around the world. Through this exhibition of ninety faculty, administrators, and graduates, 'Remembering the Memphis College of Art, 1936-2020' reflects on the school’s historical impact and celebrates its continued legacy regionally and beyond.

Learn More

Nazi-Era Research

Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi Party systemically persecuted and stripped Jewish people from Nazi-occupied Europe of their possessions. These objects were looted, sold, dispersed, or destroyed. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art began Nazi-Era provenance research in 2002, focusing on all European paintings in the permanent collection that transferred ownership or have gaps in their provenance from 1933 to 1945.

Although we cannot conclude that a work of art was looted or appropriated by the Nazis simply because it has incomplete or unverified information in its provenance, gaps do indicate that more robust research must be conducted. Many times, these gaps in provenance are the result of lost or destroyed gallery records, or the requested anonymity of a past owner. Several of the museum’s paintings have been researched and their provenance has been established, while others continue to be investigated.

The American Association of Museums has developed a Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal which provides a searchable registry of objects in United States museum collections that fit the criteria discussed above.

In allowing public access, we join with the international art museum community in the diligent search for items seized or looted during the Nazi era. If you have any inquiries or information about these items, please contact the museum at provresearch@brooksmuseum.org.

‍

Colonial-Era Research

Throughout history, many works of art from around the world were stolen, forcibly sold, or taken without consent as the direct result of Colonialism. The communities whose objects were taken experienced trauma, violence, and loss. Looting is not just an issue of the past. These problems persist globally due to war, riot, shifts in government, organized crime, terrorism, and natural disasters and, unfortunately, looted objects emerge on the art market to this day.

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is committed to not only investigating the history of objects in our collection with possible links to Colonialism, but also to ensuring that all incoming acquisitions and gifts have a verified past that align with our ethical obligations.

‍

‍

Enhance your connection with the world of art

There are many ways for individuals, foundations, and corporations to support Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Ways to give

Galleries

You can start your visit to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art online and purchase your tickets before your arrive.

Plan your visit

Permanent Collections

Information about the permanent collections of the Brooks Museum

Interior with Soldiers
Provenance Research Paintings
View CollectionView Collection