Beccafumi's altarpiece was once sold through the Munich art dealership of AS Drey. Before 1936 it entered a private collection in London from a private Monaco collection, and was purchased by the Gallery from London's Matthiesen Gallery in 1992.

This landscape by Braque, the co-founder of cubism, was first documented as belonging to the German collector Edwin Suermondt, who was known to have visited Gertrude Stein's famous salons and acquired paintings by Picasso in Paris. After some decades, sales records show it moving from the collection of George W and Emily Staempfli, New York, in the 1960s, when it was also listed in 'Cubism and twentieth century art' by Robert Rosenblum and lent to the 'Summer loan exhibition including the McIlhenny and Staempfli Collections' at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1968.

Braque's 1911 painting has a fascinating early provenance. It was sold at a Kahnweiler sale at Hotel Drouot, Paris in 1921. Art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler was one of the first champions of cubism. The piece was purchased by the leader of the surrealists Andre Breton, before records become unclear in WWII.

A label on the back of this Bril painting shows it belonging to an unidentified Italian collection in 1748. It came into the Rome collection of Otto E Messinger around 1910, then passed through Rudolph Lepke's Berlin auction rooms in 1918. 1932 saw the work at the Galerie Julius Stern, Dusseldorf, then in 1935 it was sold by Abels Brothers, Cologne. All that is known from then until 1997 was that it was in a private collection in Austria.

The known provenance of Cambiaso's painting only goes back to 1988, when it was put up for auction at Christie's New York.

The records of private collections often reveal little about the history of transactions, particularly when that history dates back not just decades, but centuries. This work was in private hands before being purchased by the Gallery in 2007.

The Gallery purchased Cazin's painting in London, possibly from Arthur Tooth & Sons, in 1949. Though little is known about its prior provenance, the work was referred to by Gabriel Mourey in an 1895 edition of The Studio, reporting on 'Art at the Champs de Mars', London.

Initially sold through the Galerie Kriegel, Paris, Camoin's painting was in a private collection in Sydney when it was anonymously gifted in 1984. No other details are known of its ownership.

Donations by private collectors, such as the one who offered this Dufy painting to the Gallery in 1982, can come with the stipulation that the donor remain anonymous. Though the work was well documented from 1957 on (before it entered into our donor's hands), this painting has no documentation for the period 1933-45.

Derain's still life was owned by HJP Bomford when it appeared in the exhibition 'Paintings of the French School from a private collection', at Temple Newsam House, England, towards the end of the war in 1944. Though later ownership has been documented, who owned it before Bomford is unknown.

This painting by Polish-French artist Henri Hayden once belonged to one of the most influential art collectors and dealers of the 20th century, Léonce Rosenberg. As an early advocate of cubism, Rosenberg was dealing in major pieces of modern art until his gallery was forced to close in 1941. It is known that his personal collection was looted by the Nazis.

Key's portrait appears in catalogues dating back to 1910 and continuing to 1932, when it was listed by Brockwell as one of the pictures at Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey, in the collection of Sir Herbert Cook, Baronet (from his father Sir Frederick). The great collection of old masters was then passed to his son, the artist Sir Francis Cook. Between 1914 and 1934, it was catalogued as being by Antonio Moro and at other times by Frans Pourbus. From the mid 1930s its ownership is in doubt until acquired by the Netherlands Insurance Company, who donated it to the Gallery in 1965.

It is known that one owner of this Largillière portrait was the renowned collector Comtesse Niel, who had it in her possession in Paris by 1928. But then, perhaps because of the war, documentation is broken, and the painting is next recorded at a sale in Paris nearly 50 years later in 1976. A decade later it was sold through Colnaghi's, perhaps the oldest commercial art gallery in the world, before eventually being purchased in 1988 by James Fairfax, who donated the master work to the Gallery in 1995.

Laurencin's painting 'Two women with musical instrument' was one of three works by the French artist donated to the Gallery in 1987 as part of the bequest of Beatrice Moresby in memory of her mother Joan Morrisby. Previous records go back to a 1935 transaction at Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris, but nothing before then.

Laurencin's 'Woman with bouquet' was one of three works by the French artist donated to the Gallery in 1987 as part of the bequest of Beatrice Moresby in memory of her mother Joan Morrisby. Previous records go back to a 1924 transaction at Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris, showing it was purchased directly from the artist by Rosenberg. It then went to a Mr Bentinck, London, in 1928 but its movements after are undocumented until coming to Moresby some time before 1987.

Laurencin's 'The black gloves' was one of three works by the French artist donated to the Gallery in 1987 as part of the bequest of Beatrice Moresby in memory of her mother Joan Morrisby. The previous ownership of this piece is unrecorded.

Lepine's gentle pastoral was acquired by the Gallery in 1987 as part of the bequest of Beatrice Moresby, through the National Art Collections Fund (UK), in memory of her mother Joan Morrisby. Its previous ownership is unrecorded.

The earliest record for Albert Marquet's late Fauve painting shows it in the Daily Telegraph Exhibition of French and British Modern Art held at David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, and Melbourne Town Hall, in 1939, the year it was purchased by the Gallery. The Gallery put it on display in an exhibition of French art in 1944. Though the work was purchased at the start of WWII, the period under review dates back to 1933, when this work would have been in Europe.

This painting by Moroni began life, like most portraits, in a private collection that either kept few records or did not wish them revealed. Only when it was sold through Colnaghi New York in 1992 did it come into the public arena again, previous whereabouts unknown.

Pascin's delicate portrait was in private hands until gifted anonymously to the Gallery in 1982, and would most likely have been in Europe during the period 1933-45.

Rodchenko's painting was once held in the St Petersburg collection of Alexander Archipenko, a relative of the modernist sculptor of the same name. However, little is known about its ownership before the 1970s.

This lively painting was once owned by Ambroise Vollard, Paris, who in 1930 famously commissioned Picasso to produce the suite of 100 etchings that became known as the Vollard Suite. The story of the dispersal of Vollard's collection of over 10,000 artworks during WWII is a fascinating one. His Vlaminck was documented in 1943 as being at The Redfern Gallery, London, then subsequently in various prestigious collections, though dates are not confirmed until 1966. In 2006, the year it was purchased by the Gallery from Cyrille de Gunzburg, The Art Loss Register carried out a search and reported the painting not listed on its database.

Gallery Trustee JR McGregor purchased Vlaminck's painting from Foundation Wildenstein, Paris, in June 1939, just before the war began. Ownership prior to that date in not known.