• Restitution

Dr Sonja Niederacher

  • Vice President | Global Head of Restitution Research
New York

Sonja Niederacher, holds a PhD from the University of Vienna and is a historian with a broad academic background. She began her professional career at the Bruno Kreisky Archive Foundation in Vienna, where her historical research focused on the history and remembrance of the Nazi era. During this time, she worked on significant research projects for the Austrian government and corporate clients such as Post AG, and the Dorotheum auction house. These pioneering projects explored corporate history and the topic of forced labor under Nazi rule.

Over time, she specialized in Holocaust Era Assets and restitution, covering a wide range of assets—from real estate and bonds to valuable movable objects. She was part of the research team that investigated the so-called dormant Jewish bank accounts at Postsparkasse Bank. She served as a member of the Historical Commission of the Republic of Austria, where she investigated the expropriation of Jewish assets by the Nazi regime and the subsequent restitution efforts after the war.

In 2008, Sonja Niederacher was appointed by the Austrian government to research the provenance of works in the Leopold Museum in Vienna. This appointment marked her transition into fine arts and provenance research. Over the next twelve years, her in-depth study of the museum's renowned collection—particularly works by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt—enabled her to develop strong expertise in Austrian Modern Art, with a focus on collectors' histories, the art market, and provenance. Since 2013, Dr. Niederacher has served as a consultant to the Gustav Klimt | Wien 1900 Private Foundation, as well as to various private clients. From 2021 to 2023, she held the position of Senior Provenance Specialist at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2024 Sonja Niederacher assumed the position of Global Head of Restitution Research at Sotheby’s in New York.

Read Less
Read More

Contact Information

More from Sotheby's

Upcoming Auctions

Load More