During the last two decades there has been a growing determination to restore works of art that were plundered by the Nazis during WWII. This lecture will examine the possible reasons for this shift in awareness, based on Sophia’s personal experience and research in connection with the remarkable case of the restitution of the painting by Jozef Israëls (Dutch, 1824–1911) titled From Darkness to Light. see article.

Since 2016, Sophia Berry has been working as an Assistant Curator at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (TAMA). Her position at TAMA includes responsibilities of managing exhibitions from the Museum’s collections and external loans, researching the Museum’s collections, overseeing outgoing loans, writing catalogue texts, and leading restoration projects. Sophia’s latest project was a special exhibition of George Segal’s (1914–2000) sculpture, Sacrifice of Isaac, that was uncovered after a two year restoration process. Sophia has also curated a special display dedicated to Joseph Israel’s From Darkness and Light (1871), which was recently discovered to have been Jewish property before the War. Since her return from a two year sabbatical in Denver Col. Sophia has been working in the photography department.