Since acquiring the work in 1959, the museum has consistently conducted research into the painting’s provenance, including its location before and during World War II. However, gaps remained in the historical record. Through a collaborative research exchange between the museum and Mondex Corporation, new information revealed that Woman with a Fan was part of the Lewenstein Collection, which was part of a forced sale in Amsterdam after the German invasion of the Netherlands. Based on this new understanding of the painting’s history, the Art Institute concluded that it should be returned to the Lewenstein heirs.
“This return reflects our commitment to take decisive action when new research clarifies the provenance of a work,” said Dr. Jacques Schuhmacher, Executive Director, Provenance Research, of the Art Institute of Chicago. “Our collaboration and shared research with Mondex was crucial to returning this painting to the Lewenstein heirs.”
Jean Metzinger was one of the most forward thinking artists and advanced theorists of Cubism. The colorful, bust-length depiction of a woman displays the face and clothing as a succession of basic shapes set in distinct spatial planes. During this time, Metzinger lived and worked in Paris, yet his paintings were exhibited widely, with influence extending to Germany as well as in France.
“It is gratifying to see this painting returned to the Lewenstein family heirs, and the Art Institute of Chicago is to be congratulated for being an invaluable partner in making this return a reality. Their proactive and collaborative work with the Mondex Corporation is truly a model for how a museum should apply research, provenance, and restitution practices as envisioned by the Washington Principles on Nazi Confiscated Art of 1998 and the Terezin Declaration of 2009,” said Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, counsel for Mondex and the architect of the 1998 Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and the 2009 Terezin Declaration.
Provenance research is an institutional priority for the Art Institute. The museum’s department of provenance research is one of the largest departments of its kind in the country. The provenance team works with curators, researchers, and museum leaders to conduct research across the entire collection and to inform decision making on this important topic.
Main Image: Jean Metzinger. Woman with a Fan, 1913. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sigmund Kunstadter. © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.