Rose Valland

A French art historian who secretly documented Nazi-looted artworks during WWII

Rose Valland (1898-1978) became an unsung heroine of art restitution through her covert actions at Paris' Jeu de Paume Museum during Nazi occupation. As a low-profile curator, she risked execution by meticulously recording every looted artwork's origin and destination in coded notebooks.

Her 3-year clandestine operation resulted in:

• Documentation of 20,000+ stolen artworks
• Identification of 60+ railway shipments to Germany
• Critical intelligence for the Monuments Men recovery effort

Post-war, Valland's evidence helped recover 45,000+ cultural items. She remained an art detective until 1960s, solving cases like the Ghent Altarpiece recovery. Unlike typical war heroes, her weapons were patience, photographic memory, and bureaucratic camouflage.