Paintings by Adolf Hitler

Hitler's painting The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich, 1914

Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi party in Germany in the years leading up to and during World War II, was also a painter.[1] He produced hundreds of works and sold his paintings and postcards to try to earn a living during his Vienna years (1908–1913). However, he was not successful. A number of his paintings were recovered after World War II and have been sold at auctions for tens of thousands of dollars. Others were seized by the U.S. Army and are still held by the U.S. government.

History

Artistic ambition

In his autobiography Mein Kampf, Hitler described how, in his youth, he wanted to become a professional artist, but his aspirations were ruined because he failed the entrance exam of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.[2] Hitler was rejected twice by the institute, once in 1907 and again in 1908;[3] the institute considered that he had more talent in architecture than in painting. One of the instructors, sympathetic to his situation and believing he had some talent, suggested that he apply to Academies School of Architecture. However, that would have required returning to secondary school from which he had dropped out and which he was unwilling to do.

Later, when he used to tint and peddle postcards featuring scenes of Vienna, Hitler frequented the artists' cafes in Munich in the unfulfilled hope that established artists might help him with his ambition to paint professionally.

According to a conversation before the outbreak of World War II in August 1939, published in the British War Blue Book, Hitler told British ambassador Nevile Henderson, "I am an artist and not a politician. Once the Polish question is settled, I want to end my life as an artist."[2]

Vienna period

From 1908 to 1913, Hitler tinted postcards and painted houses for a living. He painted his first self-portrait in 1910 at the age of 21. This painting, along with twelve other paintings by Hitler, was discovered by Company Sergeant Major Willie J. McKenna in 1945 in Essen, Germany.[3]

Samuel Morgenstern, an Austrian businessman and a business partner of the young Hitler in his Vienna period, bought many of the young Hitler's paintings. According to Morgenstern, Hitler came to him for the first time in the beginning of the 1910s, either in 1911 or in 1912. When Hitler came to Morgenstern's glazier store for the first time, he offered Morgenstern three of his paintings. Morgenstern kept a database of his clientele, through which it had been possible to locate the buyers of young Hitler's paintings. It is found that the majority of the buyers were Jewish. An important client of Morgenstern, a lawyer by the name of Josef Feingold, bought a series of paintings by Hitler depicting old Vienna.[4]

World War I

When Hitler served in World War I at the age of 25 in 1914, he carried his paints with him to the front and spent his idle hours doing art. The works he painted during this period were among his last before he became a politician/dictator. The themes of his wartime painting included farmers' houses, the dressing-station, etc.

Auction sales

A number of Hitler's paintings were seized by the U.S. Army at the end of World War II. They were taken to the United States with other captured materials and are still held by the U.S. government, which has declined to allow them to be exhibited.[5] Other paintings were kept by private individuals. In the 2000s, a number of these works began to be sold at auction.[6] In 2009 auction house Mullock's of Shropshire sold 15 of Hitler's paintings for a total of ₤97,672 (US$143,358).[7] while Ludlow’s of Shropshire sold 13 works for over €100,000.[8] In a 2012 auction in Slovakia, a mixed-media painting fetched €32,000.[9] And on November 18, 2014, a watercolor by Hitler of the old registry office in Munich sold for €130,000 at an auction in Nuremberg. The watercolor included a bill of sale and a signed letter by Albert Bormann, which may have contributed to its comparatively high selling price.[10]

Critical analysis

According to the weekly news magazine LIFE, which featured Hitler and his paintings in 1936 and 1939, Hitler painted hundreds of works. Some thought Hitler's painting skill was poor; for example because he rarely painted people, the cause of which was speculated by LIFE to be either his unwillingness or lack of skill. His paintings are preoccupied with architecture such as public places, buildings, and farmhouses. Others, however, concluded he "had a modicum of talent." One modern art critic was asked to review some of his paintings without being told who painted them and judged them "quite good". The different style in which he drew human figures, however, the critic said, represented a profound disinterest in people.[11]

According to a report entitled The Water Colours of Hitler: Recovered Art Works: Homage to Rodolfo Siviero, prepared by Fratelli Alinari, Hitler's water colours prove he was "grim" as a painter.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Enzo Colotti; Riccardo Mariani (30 June 2005). The water colours of Hitler: recovered art works : homage to Rodolfo Siviero ; with texts. Fratelli Alinari spa. p. 5. ISBN 978-88-7292-054-1. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Adolf Hitler; Max Domarus (1 April 2007). The essential Hitler: speeches and commentary. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-86516-627-1. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wilkes, David (25 March 2009). "Face of a monster: Self-portrait of Hitler painted when he was just 21 revealed at auction". Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Brigitte Hamann; Hans Mommsen (3 August 2010). Hitler's Vienna: A Portrait of the Tyrant as a Young Man. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p. 356. ISBN 978-1-84885-277-8. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  5. ↑ Marc Fisher, "The Art of Evil; Half a century later, the paintings of Adolf Hitler are still a federal case", The Washington Post, Apr. 21, 2002, p. W.26
  6. ↑ Ng, David (30 January 2012). "Would you buy this painting by Adolf Hitler?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Mullocks auction house claims art by Adolf Hitler sold for $143K". New York Daily News. Associated Press. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Hitler paintings sold at British auction house". Deutsche Welle. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Hitler painting fetches 32,000 euros in Slovak auction". The Hindu. Agence France-Presse. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  10. ↑ Ziv, Stav (22 November 2014). "Watercolor Painting by Adolf Hitler Sells for $161,000". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  11. ↑ Spotts, Frederic Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics (Overlook TP, 2004) ISBN 978-1-58567-507-4 p.172 See also Adolf Hitler's Paintings

Further reading

External links