Catherine Herbert Email & Phone Number

Philadelphia, Pa, Us

Under direction of the Deputy Director for Collections and Programs and working closely with the Registrar for the Collections, responsible for overseeing activities related to the documentation of the Museum’s collection and coordinating procedures for the acquisition and deaccession of works of art in the collection. Responsible for ongoing provenance research and documentation of the Museum’s collection, particularly with regard to European works of art acquired after the Nazi era and antiquities and archaeological materials.Research restitution and repatriation claims and potential claims for Museum objects and field inquiries regarding the provenance of objects in the Museum’s collection.Working with the General Counsel, responsible for provenance review of potential acquisitions and loans, and the development of due diligence policies and practice throughout the curatorial division, including advising curatorial staff on potential legal and ethical issues arising from the acquisition of works of art from other countries.Serve as Co-chair, Collection Resources and Information Working Group, whose goal is to build a foundation of information on the collection to support collections online, interpretive projects, and third party initiatives and partnerships. The group works to implement minimum cataloguing standard, enhancing content to fill an audience need, and resolve collection information issues to maximize effectiveness of core data. Assist the Deputy Director in planning agendas, presentations, and other materials for the Committee on Collections, attend meetings of the Committee on Collections, and prepare minutes for meetings of the Committee on Collections.

Responsible for ongoing provenance research and documentation of the Museum’s collection, particularly with regard to European works of art acquired after the Nazi era and antiquities and archaeological materials.Researched the provenance of over 750 artworks in the Museum’s collection to determine which meet the criteria of the American Association of Museum’s “Guidelines Concerning the Unlawful Appropriation of Objects During the Nazi Era,” namely, all objects created before 1946 and acquired by the museum after 1932, that underwent a change of ownership between 1932 and 1946, and that were or might reasonably be thought to have been in continental Europe between those dates. Research included travel for archival research as necessary. Compiled provenance documentation for curatorial object files, entered research results, with exhibition history and published references, into the Museum’s collections database, TMS.Posted provenance information on the Museum’s website, and registered objects meeting the AAM criteria with the AAM’s Nazi Era Provenance Internet Portal.Working with the Deputy Director and the Museum’s General Counsel, responsible for provenance review of potential acquisitions and loans, and the development of due diligence policies and practice throughout the curatorial division, including advising curatorial staff on potential legal and ethical issues arising from the acquisition of works of art from other countries.In coordination with the General Counsel, researched restitution claims or potential claims for Museum objects and fielded inquiries regarding the Nazi-era provenance of objects in the Museum’s collection.

Ph.D., Art History

M.A., Art History

B.A., History