Rose Valland, the Art Spy

Michelle Young, Professor, Columbia University

While Hitler was amassing stolen art for his future Führermuseum, Rose Valland, his undercover adversary, secretly worked to stop him. Valland was a curator at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris when the Nazis invaded France, occupied the museum, and began using it as a sorting center for thousands of pieces of stolen art from across Europe. The wily Valland managed to retain her position at the museum while keeping meticulous secret records of the provenance and destination of every piece of art. Her notes enabled the recovery of many stolen artworks after the war. Yet, as the years passed, Valland and her brave actions were gradually forgotten in the historic record. This lecture presents Valland’s story.

This talk is presented as part of the Winter/Spring 2026 Lecture Series, which features a range of scholars with expertise on the art and design of Austria and Germany.

About the Speaker

The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland, which was named a “Best Book of 2025” by the New York Public Library, Library Journal, and Indigo, and was longlisted for the American Library of Paris Book Award.