BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Gallery of Art -- West Wing -- Exhibit: Monuments Officers and the NGA

DC -- Natl Gallery of Art -- West Wing -- Exhibit: Monuments Officers and the NGA:

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Description of Pictures: Monuments Officers and the NGA
Introduction:
During World War II the National Gallery of Art (NGA) was deeply involved in efforts to protect art, archives, libraries, historical buildings, and monuments in war theaters.
Several hundred men and women—including art historians, museum and art professionals, artists, archivists, and librarians—from many nations were involved in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) program. Several of these individuals were associated with the National Gallery of Art before or after the war.
As the war progressed, members of the American cultural community became increasingly concerned about the fate of historical monuments, movable art, archives, and libraries in Europe. In the fall of 1942, the American Defense–Harvard Group, established two years earlier by university faculty and personnel, began working with the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to devise plans for protecting cultural property in European areas that would soon be occupied by Allied military forces. With its government connections, the Gallery served as the lobbying arm and center of operations in Washington, ultimately creating high-level support for efforts to protect and save threatened cultural heritage (Nicholas 1994, 211) Toward this goal, and with the urging of Gallery Director David Finley, Harlan F. Stone, chief justice of the Supreme Court, asked President Roosevelt in December 1942 to form a government organization for “the protection and conservation of works of art and of artistic and historic monuments and records in Europe.” On April 24, 1943, the president approved the establishment of the Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, commonly known as the Roberts Commission after its chairman, Justice Owen J. Roberts. At the president’s request, the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to assist in the commission’s work, leading to the formation of the military’s MFAA program (Finley 1973, 158).
Throughout the war, the Gallery provided offices and staff for the commission: David Finley was vice-chairman and de facto head of the commission; Secretary and General Counsel Huntington Cairns was secretary; and Chief Curator John Walker was a special advisor. The Roberts Commission completed its mission in June 1946.
To support efforts to protect art and monuments during the war, the Roberts Commission:
* Helped persuade the War Department to formalize its MFAA program and worked tirelessly to support its officers in the field.
* Proposed military personnel to serve as MFAA officers.
* Worked with civilian groups to supply some 700 maps of war areas for military reconnaissance as well as handbooks and lists of monuments for use in war zones.
* Provided lectures on the care and preservation of works of art, monuments, and records in military schools.
* Worked with the Office of Strategic Services to create an investigation unit to gather information on individuals engaged in Nazi art theft and destruction.
* Advised on policies for the eventual restitution of looted works found in the American Zone in Germany.
* Collected the archival record of MFAA activities, Nazi destruction, and Allied efforts to protect and return art.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NGAMON_140216_011.JPG: "Shortly we will be fighting our way across the continent of Europe in battles designed to preserve our civilization... in the path of our advance will be found historical monuments and cultural centers which symbolize to the world all that we are fighting to preserve. It is the responsibility of every commander to protect and respect these symbols whenever possible." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, General, US Army, May 26, 1944 The Monuments Men and the National Gallery of Art During World War II, American art historians, museum and art professionals, and archivists were deployed as military officers to protect historical monuments, art, and archives in war theaters throughout western Europe. These "monuments men" were part of the military's Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) program. The National Gallery of Art played a seminal role in its creation. This display describes the creation of the government commission that instigated and supported the MFAA and explores the experiences of a few of the real-life monuments men. The photographs and documents shown here can only suggest the enormous achievements of the program. Unless otherwise noted, materials on view are from the Gallery's rich holdings on the MFAA. The monuments officers and their families generously gave these personal records to the Gallery archives, thus ensuring that this remarkable story may continue to be told for future generations.
2. NGAMON_140216_022.JPG: I. Behind the Monuments Men In Washington, working through the National Gallery of Art, leaders of the American cultural community persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt to create a government commission whose concerns would be the protection and conservation of art and cultural materials, historic monuments, and archives in Europe and the eventual return of looted objects to rightful owners. The result was the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas. It was also known as the Roberts Commission, named for its chairman, Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts. One of the commission's most significant achievements was to persuade the military to create the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) program to place skilled officers in the field.
3. NGAMON_140216_028.JPG: Biltmore estate, Asheville, North Carolina, 1944. Gallery Archives Within weeks of American entry into World War II, the Gallery sent many of its most valuable paintings to offsite storage at the Biltmore estate in Asheville, North Carolina, and prepared to open its doors to soldiers and war workers who were crowding the city of Washington.
4. NGAMON_140216_042.JPG: This guide was created by the Roberts Commission and published by the War Department to assist soldiers who would need to give "first aid" to cultural materials. Charles Parkhurst Papers
5. NGAMON_140216_052.JPG: The Roberts Commission worked closely with civilian groups to develop lists of significant monuments and other buildings to be given special protection during military operations. Frederick Hartt Papers
6. NGAMON_140216_063.JPG: Facsimile of telegram, April 20, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers One of the commission's chief duties was to recommend military officers to work in the MFAA program. Lieutenant Charles Parkhurst was in the navy when his wife received this telegram from the Roberts Commission. Parkhurst had been an assistant curator at the National Gallery of Art before enlisting, and he returned to the museum as assistant director and chief curator from 1971 to 1983. He served from 1945 to 1946 in the MFAA section in Germany.
7. NGAMON_140216_068.JPG: To support troop morale, the army published pamphlets such as this guide, intended "to assist the servicemen in their quest for information concerning the famed places which are being liberated." Frederick Hartt Papers
8. NGAMON_140216_075.JPG: Eighth Army General Alexander inspecting Florentine paintings, British War Office photograph. Frederick Hartt Papers General Sir Harold Alexander's well-publicized visit to the Castello di Montegufoni was part of the Allied effort to demonstrate its commitment to preserving Italy's art and cultural heritage. Germans had stored paintings from Florentine collections at the castello during the war. MFAA officer Frederick Hartt, at left, looks into the camera.
9. NGAMON_140216_078.JPG: II. Destruction and Recovery in Italy The Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 became the first test for the monuments program, which began with a single officer in the field. As fighting continued, the Roberts Commission in Washington argued for more men and support for the monuments operation. Over time the number of officers in Italy increased but still remained very small. Lieutenant Frederick Hartt was among the select group of MFAA officers who entered and worked in Tuscany in the wake of the advancing Allied armies. At the end of the war Hartt was honored by the city of Florence for his efforts.
10. NGAMON_140216_082.JPG: Reconnaissance photograph, Florence, Italy, c. 1945. Frederick Hartt Papers As they retreated from Florence, German troops blew up the city's historic bridges, including the Ponte alla Carraia, shown here. The famed Ponte Vecchio was left intact, although the ancient buildings at its approaches were reduced to rubble. The MFAA did everything possible to conserve and consolidate damaged structures, but many in Florence were beyond saving.
11. NGAMON_140216_128.JPG: The Roberts Commission served as a channel for lists of protected monuments that were to be off-limits. Such signs were posted at many churches, parks, chateaus, and historic buildings. James Rorimer Papers
12. NGAMON_140216_163.JPG: IV. Loot and Treasure Advancing into Germany with American troops, monuments officers soon began to discover places where valuable art and antiquities, libraries, and archives had been hidden by the Nazis. The existence of these repositories had long been suspected, but their scope proved to be astonishing. Over time, more than 1,000 storage sites were discovered; some were small but others sheltered great accumulations of art from occupied nations. Monuments men were responsible for securing and caring for these treasures.
13. NGAMON_140216_178.JPG: Paper permits, as shown here, were used by monuments officers to control access to Schloss Neuschwanstein and other Nazi storage sites, which were filled with portable objects of great value. Edward Adams Papers
14. NGAMON_140216_199.JPG: Lieutenant Lamont Moore, Altaussee, Austria, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers Lieutenant Lamont Moore was the Ninth US Army MFAA officer in charge of evacuation of looted art from the iron mine at Hüttenweg near Siegen, the first vast Nazi storehouse discovered in Germany. Before the war, Moore was curator of education at the National Gallery of Art and in 1946 returned to that position.
15. NGAMON_140216_206.JPG: Stationery of the Nazi art-looting organization Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), probably found at Schloss Neuschwanstein. Charles Parkhurst Papers
16. NGAMON_140216_213.JPG: ERR embroidered armband. Charles Parkhurst Papers Armbands such as this were sewn to the brown uniforms of ERR soldiers.
17. NGAMON_140216_228.JPG: Workers removing art from Schloss Neuschwanstein, November 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers
18. NGAMON_140216_233.JPG: Army truck moving looted paintings to the Wiesbaden Landesmuseum, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers Despite the best efforts of the Roberts Commission, the officers were markedly hampered by limited materials and transportation. Nonetheless, the men were able to move thousands of works of art to places of safety.
19. NGAMON_140216_280.JPG: Landesmuseum, Wiesbaden. Charles Parkhurst Papers The Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point was housed in the Landesmuseum. During the war the museum had been used as the headquarters for the general command of the German Luftwaffe.
20. NGAMON_140216_283.JPG: Jewish religious objects arriving at the Munich Central Collecting Point, 1945. Craig Hugh Smyth Papers
21. NGAMON_140216_287.JPG: Lieutenant Craig Hugh Smyth at the Munich Central Collecting Point with looted art, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers Lieutenant Smyth reported for duty as officer-in-charge of the Munich Central Collecting Point on June 4, 1945, just two weeks before the first loads of art objects arrived. Within two months, more than 6,000 items had been received. Smyth had been a research assistant at the National Gallery of Art before joining the navy.
22. NGAMON_140216_301.JPG: Shortly we will be fighting our way across the continent of Europe in battles designed to preserve our civilization... in the path of our advance will be found historical monuments and cultural centers which symbolize to the world all that we are fighting to preserve. It is the responsibility of every commander to protect and respect these symbols whenever possible. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, General, US Army, May 26, 1944 The Monuments Men and the National Gallery of Art
23. NGAMON_140216_305.JPG: Lieutenant Frederick Hartt, one of the monuments men, was sent to Livorno to investigate accounts of antiquities being looted from severely damaged sites in the city. Frederick Hartt Papers
24. NGAMON_140216_319.JPG: VI. Restitution and Closure American restitution policies guided the monuments officers as they undertook their final herculean task of returning precious objects to owners. Nazi records and card files seized at Schloss Neuschwanstein and elsewhere became important sources, and American officers worked closely with their counterparts from other nations to complete the task. From the time of its establishment, the Roberts Commission had advised the State Department on the principles that should govern restitution of art and cultural materials after the war.
25. NGAMON_140216_328.JPG: Stained-glass windows of Strasbourg cathedral. Charles Parkhurst Papers The Nazis had moved the Strasbourg cathedral windows to a salt mine at Heilbronn, Germany, where they were found by the Seventh US Army in April 1945. Monuments man Harry Ettlinger (right) is shown here inspecting them.
26. NGAMON_140216_337.JPG: Captain Rose Valland (left) and Captain Edith Standen (right) at the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point, 1946. Edith Standen Papers Rose Valland and Edith Standen were among the few women who served as monuments officers. As a curator at the Jeu de Paume in Paris, Valland had kept secret records of works of art selected for shipment to Germany. Standen served as director of the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point from 1946 to 1947. Before the war she had been secretary to the Widener Collection, one of the great founding collections of the National Gallery of Art.
27. NGAMON_140216_359.JPG: First convoy of art returned to France from the Munich Central Collecting Point, 1945. Craig Hugh Smyth Papers The Munich Central Collecting Point shown here was located on the K�nigsplatz in two buildings that had been used as Nazi party headquarters.
28. NGAMON_140216_368.JPG: Receipt for the Strasbourg stained-glass windows. James Rorimer Papers On September 17, 1945, seventy-three crates containing the stained-glass windows of Strasbourg cathedral were loaded onto a convoy of five trucks at Heilbronn for return to France. Monuments officer James Rorimer was given this formal receipt when the windows were transferred to French custody.
29. NGAMON_140216_375.JPG: Visitors to the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point exhibition of Berlin treasures. Charles Parkhurst Papers Monuments officers organized extraordinary exhibitions of works of art found in Nazi hiding places to boost the morale of Allied troops and to establish cooperative relationships with the German postwar art museum community. The bust of Nefertiti from the collection of the Neues Museum in Berlin can be seen at the left.
30. NGAMON_140216_383.JPG: Program for one of the MFAA exhibitions. Charles Parkhurst Papers
31. NGAMON_140216_415.JPG: Huntington Cairns, May 1941. Jack Hyams Photographs Roberts Commission offices were located in the National Gallery of Art building, and many of its staff and officers also worked for the museum. Huntington Cairns was a well-known scholar and author who held the unpaid position of secretary to the commission while also serving as an executive officer of the fledgling National Gallery of Art.
32. NGAMON_140216_425.JPG: David Finley, c. 1946. David Finley Papers David Finley served in the titular role of vice-chairman of the Roberts Commission, but effectively acted as its chief executive, using all of his considerable charm and excellent contacts to promote its work in Washington and to support the monuments men in the field. Finley had been a close associate of Andrew Mellon, founder of the National Gallery of Art, and served as director of the museum from 1938 to 1956.
33. NGAMON_140216_430.JPG: Lieutenant Charles Parkhurst, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers
34. NGAMON_140216_436.JPG: Trucks with Florentine art arriving at the Piazza della Signoria, July 22, 1945. Frederick Hartt Papers The truck convoy with works of art from the jail at San Leonardo in Passiria was greeted by heralds, trumpeters, and jubilant celebrations as it reentered Florence.
35. NGAMON_140216_441.JPG: San Leonardo in Val Passiria, Italy. Frederick Hartt Papers In May 1945 large deposits of art from the Uffizi and other Florentine museums were found in the local jail of the northern Italian town of San Leonardo, where they had been moved by the German army. Frederick Hartt arrived at the jail on May 21 and returned often until the paintings were returned to Florence.
36. NGAMON_140216_448.JPG: Destroyed buildings in Florence following the Nazi retreat. Frederick Hartt Papers
37. NGAMON_140216_450.JPG: III. D-Day and France Less than two weeks before D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower issued his now famous order to all commanders stating their responsibility to save historical monuments and cultural centers. A small number of monuments officers moved through France with the advancing armies. Captain James J. Rorimer, who had left a career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to join the army, was among the monuments officers active in France. Rorimer later served with the MFAA in Germany, ultimately becoming chief of the MFAA section of the Seventh US Army, Western Military District.
38. NGAMON_140216_454.JPG: Church at Deuil, Seine-et-Oise, 1944. James Rorimer Papers Monuments officers visited damaged churches and cultural sites, took photographs, and made careful records of destruction. Rorimer later observed that this church at Deuil was one of the few buildings near Paris damaged by German V-2 bombs.
39. NGAMON_140216_459.JPG: Foundry at Blanc Mesnil, 1944. James Rorimer Papers During the Nazi occupation of France, statues, church bells, and other metal objects were taken to this foundry to be melted for armaments. MFAA officers discovered these figures there and restored them to their owners.
40. NGAMON_140216_465.JPG: Captain James Rorimer, 1945. James Rorimer Papers
41. NGAMON_140216_475.JPG: Telegram to James Rorimer, November 1944. James Rorimer Papers Despite orders to protect monuments, military units occasionally were billeted in historically significant buildings. MFAA officers did everything to prevent such assignments and fielded complaints from concerned French citizens and property owners. This telegram from Charles de Noailles alerts Captain Rorimer of a threat to Madame de Pompadour's house at Fontainebleau
42. NGAMON_140216_484.JPG: Mont Saint-Michel, 1944. James Rorimer Papers When Captain Rorimer arrived at Mont Saint-Michel, he discovered soldiers on leave carelessly driving through narrow streets despite the off-limits signs seen here. He expressed his concern in written reports and succeeded in enforcing a policy that improved security.
43. NGAMON_140216_520.JPG: While preparing to enter Germany, British monuments staff prepared a "White List" of anti-Nazi German art museum and archives personnel who could be expected to help the monuments officers. The report was classified, as the identified individuals would be in danger if the document fell into enemy hands. Charles Parkhurst Papers
44. NGAMON_140216_532.JPG: Captain Edward Adams (second from left) with monuments team at Schloss Neuschwanstein. Charles Parkhurst Papers One of the chief tasks facing the monuments officers in Germany was to find adequate manpower to protect treasures in military possession. Other officers, enlisted men, and civilians provided important aid. Captain Adams was chief of the evacuation team at the castle.
45. NGAMON_140216_540.JPG: Captain James Rorimer (left) at Schloss Neuschwanstein with objects looted from the Maurice Rothschild collection, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers
46. NGAMON_140216_543.JPG: ERR headquarters at Schloss Neuschwanstein held one of the greatest accumulations of art looted from Jewish collections in France. The fantastic castle had been built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845 – 1886). James Rorimer Papers
47. NGAMON_140216_553.JPG: V. Sanctuaries for Art With the Nazi depots of loot and treasures physically secured, the principal concern of the monuments men turned to the formidable task of evacuating the contents to safer locations. Many cultural objects were moved to central collecting points where they were cataloged and cared for under the watchful eyes of monuments officers. Despite limited staff and supplies, the collecting points soon became model repositories for the immense collections of art, books, documents, and Jewish religious objects that had been discovered.
48. NGAMON_140216_561.JPG: Military Transport Authorization, December 1945. Edward Adams Papers This memorandum authorized transport of 2,000 German paintings from Schloss Neuschwanstein to the Munich Central Collecting Point.
49. NGAMON_140216_565.JPG: Army truck moving looted paintings to the Wiesbaden Landesmuseum, 1945. Charles Parkhurst Papers Despite the best efforts of the Roberts Commission, the officers were markedly hampered by limited materials and transportation. Nonetheless, the men were able to move thousands of works of art to places of safety.
50. NGAMON_140216_574.JPG: Captain Walter Farmer (right) at the Munich Central Collecting Point. Walter Farmer Papers In addition to looted art, monuments officers discovered German national treasures in Schloss Neuschwanstein and other Nazi hiding places. These items, which belonged to the German nation, were brought to central collecting points and given extraordinary care and protection. Here monuments officer Captain Walter Farmer and an adviser are shown in a special room for German-owned paintings.
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