Denver Art Museum reckons with its past ties to illegal art dealers

via Axios, 20 December 2022: Summary piece on the Denver Post’s recent expose on the Denver Art Museum, their former trustee Emma Bunker and their role in acquiring looted antiquities.

The Denver Art Museum is scouring its antiquities collection looking for looted goods tied to illegal art dealers and a former museum trustee who is the namesake of its Asian collection, officials said in a recent statement.

Why it matters: The authenticity of dozens of items held by the taxpayer-funded museum is now in question — part of a global reckoning about the provenance of art, propelled by demands from foreign countries and law enforcement to return looted goods to their owners.

What to know: At the center of an investigation is a woman known in court papers as “The Scholar” from Colorado. The Denver Post recently revealed her to be Emma Bunker, a Denver Art Museum consultant, former board member and one of its top benefactors.

Source: Denver Art Museum reckons with its past ties to illegal art dealers – Axios Denver