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DALLAS, TX – The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is proud to announce receipt of a grant from Bank of America to support the Foundation’s ongoing research into leads it receives concerning works of art and other cultural objects that went missing during World War II. The upcoming opening of the Monuments Men and Women Gallery and its “Whereabouts Unknown” panel, a feature exhibit of the Liberation Pavilion opening this fall at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, will encourage visitors to the Museum to submit leads concerning missing works of art and cultural objects to the Foundation.
“We are very excited about the Foundation’s new partnership with Bank of America and appreciative of their multiyear commitment,” said Anna Bottinelli, president of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation. “Bank of America’s support of the arts in general, and its contribution to the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to complete the work of the WWII-era Monuments Men and Women, is inspiring. The opening of the Monuments Men and Women Gallery at The National WWII Museum presents a unique opportunity to engage hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Museum who may have information, and perhaps even missing objects, to contact the Foundation. We are thrilled to be working with Bank of America to illuminate the path home for some of these missing objects.”
“The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is a powerful example of an organization going to great lengths to protect objects of significant cultural and artistic importance,” said Brian Siegel, Global Arts, Culture & Heritage Executive at Bank of America. “Our partnership with the foundation stems from our belief in the importance of protecting cultural heritage for future generations.”
In the period 1945–1951, the Monuments Men and Women found and returned to the rightful owners more than 4 million works of art and cultural objects stolen by the Nazis. Still, hundreds of thousands of objects — including paintings, drawings, sculpture, tapestries, and rare documents — are missing. Some of these objects are in the United States, brought here by veterans, immigrants, and art dealers. To date, the Foundation has located and returned more than 40 such items, some priceless, to private collectors, museums, archives, and libraries in the United States and in Europe. This grant from Bank of America will enable the Foundation to accelerate research on an ever-increasing volume of leads it receives through its 1-866-WWII-ART (1-866-994-4278) toll-free tip line, and emails to wwiiart@monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org.
About Monuments Men and Women Foundation
The Monuments Men and Women Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising global awareness about the importance of respecting and preserving our shared cultural heritage. It is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal for its work honoring the historic achievements of the Monuments Men and Women and completing their mission to right the wrongs of the Nazi looting machine. The Monuments Men and Women Foundation works with veterans, their family members, and others to identify the objects and return them to their rightful owner. Using its super partes role, the Foundation acts on behalf of the art or cultural object in question, without favoritism, without an agenda. For more information, www.monumentsmenandwomenfnd.org.
About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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