Bust of Isabella d'Este
In 2011, the Monuments Men Foundation discovered that a rare terracotta portrait bust, owned by the Kimbell Art Museum, had been acquired by the Nazis and was in all likelihood, destined to become part of Hitler’s collection and the Führermuseum.
The Monuments Men found this work among thousands of others in the Alt Aussee salt mine during the closing days of the war. The Foundation worked with Dr. Eric Lee, Director of the Kimbell Art Museum, and Nancy Edwards, the Kimbell’s Curator of European Art and Head of Academic Services, to affirm its ownership of the bust and clarify the provenance.
The Kimbell Art Museum once again handled a Nazi-era provenance case in the most exemplary manner.