Hosted by writer Emma Atkinson, RadioEd is a triweekly podcast created by the DU Newsroom that taps into the University of Denver’s deep pool of bright brains to explore the most compelling and interesting research coming out of DU. See below for a transcript of this episode.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office says the Art Institute of Chicago demonstrated “willful blindness” when it purchased “Russian War Prisoner,” a drawing by Austrian Artist Egon Schiele. The museum insists it came by the piece legally.  

Why all the drama? Well, the drawing was stolen by the Nazis during World War II.  

We’ll let the courts decide what happens in Chicago. But right here in Colorado, University of Denver professor of history Ellizabeth Campbell is leading a national conversation about what happened to art looted by the Nazis in World War II—and why the rehoming, or restitution, process isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. 

Elizabeth Campbell is a history professor at the University of Denver. She also serves as director of the Center for Art Collection Ethics (ACE). Campbell teaches courses in modern European and French history, including the French Revolution, Europe during the World Wars, Nazi art looting and seminars on the history and memory of World War II in France and the Algerian war of independence. 

Her latest book, “Museum Worthy: Nazi-Era Art in Postwar Western Europe,” focuses on the Allied recovery of plundered art, comparing restitution practices in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In all three cases, postwar governments held unclaimed works for display in state-run museums, setting the stage for controversy and litigation in the 1990s and ongoing cultural property disputes. (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) 

In the spring of 2017, Campbell began developing plans for ACE in consultation with DU faculty and staff in related programs. ACE promotes ethical art collection stewardship through social media and on-campus training programs. 

More Information: 

"Museum Worthy: Nazi-Era Art in Postwar Western Europe” by Elizabeth Campbell 

“Art Institute showed ‘willful blindness’ in buying Nazi-looted art, New York prosecutors say” Chicago Sun-Times 

“Russian War Prisoner” Art Institute of Chicago 

“An Art Critic’s Secret Critique Of Hitler’s Paintings Shown Uncanny Insight” History Daily 

Center for Art Collection Ethics