Rose Valland and The Art Front

Many listeners are familiar with the Monuments Men and Women - the Allied military personnel who protected cultural treasures during World War II and then aided in post-war restitution. Rose Valland, a French art historian at Paris's Jeu de Paume museum, was not officially a Monuments officer until May 1945. Throughout the war though, she courageously documented Nazi looting, tracked stolen artworks, and provided intelligence that proved crucial to their recovery - helping preserve, as a plaque in her honor at the Jeu de Paume puts it, “some of the beauty of the world.” 

In 2024, the Monuments Men and Women Foundation released the first English translation of her 1961 memoir, The Art Front, bringing her remarkable firsthand account to new audiences. To discuss Rose Valland's life and The Art Front, the MacArthur Memorial podcast sat down with Anna Bottinelli, President of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation.

The MacArthur Memorial is pleased to be a member of the Monuments Men and Women Museum Network. Learn more about the Monuments Men and Women Foundation and The Art Front.