Welcome

Every work of art has a history. This may be the artist's story, or it may be what the artwork reveals about the era in which it was created. Furthermore, it is often not fully known where a work of art has been located and who has owned it in the past.

My name is Emma van Benthem. I am an art historian specialising in provenance research. My work focuses on nineteenth-century paintings and works on paper, as well as on the period 1933–1945. In addition, I have experience in early modern art and am proficient in working with Dutch-language sources and archival materials. Through provenance and art historical research, based on archives, literature, object documentation and historical context, I help to reconstruct the story of an object.

This research offers more than just insight into the history of a work of art. It is of great importance when addressing questions regarding: the context in which a work was created, authenticity, rightful ownership, restitution, acquisition, sale and collection management. This is why I work meticulously, transparently and independently, providing you with well-founded and objective results you can rely on.

Are you a museum, institution, gallery owner, art dealer or private collector with a work of art about which you would like to know more? Please do get in touch.