New York Now Requires Museums to Display Placards Acknowledging That Works Are Nazi-Stolen Art

Last week, New York passed a new law that requires museums with identifiable works of art that were stolen during Nazi-era Europe to prominently display a placard acknowledging such information along with the display of such works. The act is an amendment to Section 233-aa of New York’s Education law. The amendment provides as follows:

 EVERY  MUSEUM  WHICH HAS ON DISPLAY ANY IDENTIFIABLE WORKS OF ART  KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN CREATED BEFORE NINETEEN HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE AND  WHICH  CHANGED  HANDS DUE TO THEFT, SEIZURE, CONFISCATION, FORCED SALE OR OTHER  INVOLUNTARY MEANS IN EUROPE DURING THE NAZI ERA (NINETEEN HUNDRED  THIRTY-THREE--NINETEEN HUNDRED FORTY-FIVE) SHALL PROMINENTLY PLACE A PLACARD  ACKNOWLEDGING SUCH INFORMATION ALONG WITH SUCH DISPLAY.

The proposed amendment was signed into law on August 10, 2022 with immediate effect. This new law is part of a broader legislative package to honor and support Holocaust survivors in educational, cultural and financial institutions, including a new law directing the New York State Education Department to determine whether school districts across the state have met education requirements on instruction of the Holocaust.