The National Gallery in London is preparing to unveil Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria,' a major 2018 acquisition. However, the museum has quietly added the painting to its list of works that could have been looted during the Nazi era due to a gap in its provenance from 1615 to the 1940s, specifically concerning its ownership by the French Boudeville family during the war.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between museum acquisition ambitions and ethical restitution obligations. While the gallery asserts it conducted due diligence and believes the work was inherited by the Boudeville family before the Nazi period, experts criticize the lack of public transparency about the provenance gap, stressing that such disclosures are crucial for potential claimants and align with international principles on Nazi-looted art.