South Carolina’s International African American Museum Officially Acquires Earliest Known Daguerreotypes of Enslaved Americans

South Carolina’s International African American Museum Officially Acquires Earliest Known Daguerreotypes of Enslaved Americans

The International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, has officially acquired the "1850 Daguerreotypes," the earliest known photographs of enslaved Americans. The set of 15 images, taken by J.T. Zealy, depicts seven enslaved individuals—Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem, and Renty—and had been held by Harvard University until a recent legal settlement. Harvard had owned the daguerreotypes since they were commissioned in 1850 by natural historian Louis Agassiz.

nazi looted painting argentina attribution investigation

A painting discovered in an Argentine home in August, initially attributed to 18th-century Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi and believed to be Nazi-looted art, has been called into question. Paolo Plebani, curator of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Italy, told the Argentine newspaper Clarín that the work is actually by Giacomo Ceruti, another Northern Italian painter. The painting was previously owned by Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who fled the Nazis, and later by former Nazi Friedrich Kadgien, whose daughters Patricia and Alicia owned the Mar del Plata home where it was found. Argentine authorities recovered the painting after placing the daughters and Patricia's husband under house arrest.

nazi looted painting disappears argentina home

A Dutch newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad, discovered a Nazi-looted Baroque painting by Giuseppe Ghislandi (also known as Fra Galgario) listed in a real estate ad for a home in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The painting, which once belonged to Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker, was later removed from the listing and disappeared from the house, prompting a police investigation involving Interpol. The work had been in the possession of SS officer Friedrich Kadgien, who fled to Argentina after World War II.

harvard cedes early images of enslaved americans legal settlement

Harvard University has transferred ownership of fifteen daguerreotypes from around 1850, considered the earliest surviving photographs of enslaved African Americans, to the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. The settlement ends an eight-year legal dispute with Tamara Lanier, who claimed the images depict her ancestors, Renty and Delia, and argued they were taken without consent for the discredited biologist Louis Agassiz. The Massachusetts courts had previously ruled that ownership remained with the photographer, but allowed Lanier to pursue emotional distress claims over Harvard's continued use of the images in marketing materials.

san francisco asian art museum returns sculptures thailand

Four ancient bronze sculptures illegally removed from Thailand in the 1960s have been repatriated from San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum to their original home in Thailand, following an investigation led by the US Department of Homeland Security. The works, which were featured in the museum’s 2024 exhibition “Moving Objects: Learning from Local and Global Communities,” were linked to convicted antiquities trafficker Douglas Latchford and had been acquired by the museum’s founding collector Avery Brundage. The Asian Art Commission unanimously approved the return after a two-stage voting process that began in September 2024 and concluded in April 2025.

nazi looted painting argentina recovery

Argentine authorities believe they have recovered a Nazi-looted painting by Italian Baroque artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, which appeared in a real estate listing for a home in Mar del Plata. The home belongs to Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of a Nazi official, who initially faced accusations of obstructing the investigation but later turned over the painting to the Civil Court. The work was once owned by Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who fled Amsterdam during the Nazi rise and died shortly after; it is listed as missing in a registry of lost art.

france returns colonial era human remains to madagascar

France has returned three colonial-era human skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to belong to King Toera, a Malagasy king executed by French troops in 1897. The skulls were handed over to Malagasy representatives at the French Culture Ministry on Monday, after being held in Paris’s National Museum of Natural History. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati called the return “historic,” while her Malagasy counterpart Volamiranty Donna Mara described it as healing an “open wound” after 128 years.

nazi looted painting search argentina house arrest

A court in Argentina has placed Patricia Kadgien and her husband Juan Carlos Cortegoso under house arrest as police search for a Nazi-looted painting by Giuseppe Ghislandi. The work, which once belonged to Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker, was spotted in a real estate listing for their house in Mar del Plata by the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. The listing has been deleted, and police failed to find the painting during a raid, but prosecutors are also investigating two other works held by another of Kadgien's daughters.