Kunsthaus Zürich and Bührle Foundation Agree to Continue Long-Term Loan Amid Enhanced Provenance Research
The Facts
The Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft and the Foundation E. G. Bührle Collection announced on 26 May 2025 a new set of guidelines governing their collaboration, ensuring the 205 works on long-term loan remain at the Kunsthaus Zürich. The Kunstgesellschaft will conduct a five-year provenance research project on the collection, applying its own standards and building on a 2024 review by Prof. Raphael Gross. The Bührle Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to seek fair and just solutions in cases of Nazi-confiscated cultural property, including potential restitution agreements that allow works to stay at the museum, as recently done with Manet's 'La Sultane'. The guidelines implement three recommendations from the Gross report, commissioned by the City and Canton of Zurich and the Kunstgesellschaft.
The Signal
The agreement resolves a period of intense public debate and independent scrutiny over the Bührle collection's wartime provenance. By transferring primary research responsibility to the museum and securing the foundation's pledge on restitution, the partnership establishes a model for institutional accountability that may influence other museums holding contested collections. For the art world, this signals that sustained public pressure and independent review can shift longstanding arrangements toward transparency and ethical action, with the 205 Bührle works now subject to systematic, museum-led scrutiny rather than foundation-guided reporting.
- People: Philipp Hildebrand, Prof. Raphael Gross
- Museums: Kunsthaus Zürich
- Locations: Zurich
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