WORCESTER — The Worcester Art Museum announced Wednesday that it has hired Daniel W. Healey to the newly created position of provenance research specialist. Provenance research includes the history of the ownership of a work of art.
Healey, a Worcester-area native, joins the museum from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, where he served as an antiquities trafficking analyst from 2021 to 2023.
The announcement follows two instances in recent months when the WAM found itself caught up in controversies about the ownership of works in its collection. The controversies reflect a national trend where North American cultural institutions have been called to account for their acquisition of art often from many years ago.
In September the museum transferred ownership of the Roman bronze bust “Portrait of a Lady (A Daughter of Marcus Aurelius?)” to the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York City after receiving information that it was “likely stolen and improperly imported.” The museum said it purchased “Portrait of a Lady” in October 1966. A few days later in September, the museum said it would be hiring a provenance research specialist and increasing the scrutiny of its collection.
However, in January WAM was one of three American museums being accused of illegally possessing 13th-century stained-glass windows allegedly stolen from Rouen Cathedral in France. The Worcester museum’s window depicts the Messengers from Ephesus before Emperor Theodosius II (an Episode from the “Legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus”) and was painted between 1200 and 1210. The museum said it had acquired the window in 1921.
The museum’s announcement on Wednesday states, “In his new role at WAM, which began earlier this year, Healey will research the provenance (ownership history) of the antiquities and other artworks in the museum’s collections, advise on acquisitions, loans, and deaccessions, and develop new ways of sharing the histories of WAM’s collections with the public.”
Matthias Waschek, the Jean and Myles McDonough Director of the Worcester Art Museum, said: “We are delighted to have Daniel Healey bring his experience and expertise to our work researching WAM’s exceptional collection. Last fall, led by Claire Whitner, the museum’s director of curatorial affairs and James A. Welu Curator of European Art, we identified a need to create a dedicated position for provenance research, a critical position to ensure the integrity of our collections. Although much of this work often takes place out of public view, this role is critical in shaping the future of the museum and how we share the history of our collections with our visitors.”
Healey is completing his Ph.D. in Roman art and archaeology at Princeton University. He has been awarded numerous research fellowships and has given papers on various aspects of his scholarship. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master’s degree from Princeton in classical art and archaeology.
“As a Worcester-area native, I grew up visiting the museum and then, later, was excited to learn more about the museum’s Antioch collection during my graduate studies,” Healey said.
“My familiarity with the museum and its collection makes it all the more meaningful for me to now join the museum’s team in support of the important, ongoing work of expanding what we know about WAM’s remarkable collection.”
