College Art Association Annual Conference, February 12–15, 2025
Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art affiliate panel session
Call for Papers


Taking and Making: Artistic Reckonings with Cultural Property Theft in the Long Nineteenth Century

Chair: Nancy Karrels, PhD, JD, karrels.nancy@gmail.com

The nineteenth century witnessed a profusion of incidents of cultural property theft accompanied by coercion and violence and often driven by imperial and colonial agendas. From the notorious spoliation of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace during the Opium Wars to the seizure of sacred Native American belongings under the guise of scientific inquiry, these acts of looting left communities grappling with profound cultural losses that still reverberate today.

This panel explores the complex dynamics of artistic exchange and expression engendered by these traumatic events. Drawing inspiration from Bénédicte Savoy’s transnational approach to the cultural exchanges that resulted from the French spoliation of Germanic princely collections in post-Revolutionary Europe, we aim to investigate the ways in which forcible transfers of cultural patrimony globally catalyzed shifts in artistic value and meaning during the long nineteenth century, and how these contentious processes sparked cross-cultural discourse and innovative avenues of creative expression among artists directly impacted by or complicit in them. From the interplay between looting and artistic production to the evolution of techniques and styles in the aftermath of plunder, we encourage contributions from diverse cultural perspectives and methodological approaches.

Submission are due August 29 through the CAA conference portal.

Proposals are open to all, but once accepted, presenters will need to update their memberships in both CAA and AHNCA by the time of the conference.