14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of weeks from now, on November 22, a watercolor created by none other than dictator Adolf Hitler will be auctioned off in the city of Nuremberg, in the German state of Bavaria.
The painting, a photo of which is available below, is said to have a starting price of €4,500 (roughly $5,600). Still, some say that it might end up fetching much more.
Thus, one other watercolor by Adolf Hitler sold in January 2012 for a whopping €32,000 (about $40,000). It is understood that this other artwork was purchased by a collector on Slovakia, who asked to remain anonymous.
“We're expecting a four- or five-figure sale price,” a spokesperson for the Weidler auction house told the press in a recent interview.
Introducing “The Old Town Hall”
Information shared with the public by the folks organizing the auction says that the watercolor is being sold by two sisters from Hesse, who inherited it from their grandfather. In turn, the man is said to have bought the painting back in 1916.
At that time, the artwork was on display at a gallery in Bavaria. To prove that it really belongs to the two sisters, the watercolor is to be auctioned off together with the bill of sale and a certificate of authenticity.
The certificate of authenticity is understood to bare the signature of Albert Bormann, brother of Martin Bormann, who was once Adolf Hitler's chief of staff, The Local tells us.
The painting, dubbed “The Old Town Hall,” measures 22 by 28 centimeters (8.6 by 10.2 inches). It was completed sometime in 1914 or 1915, and it shows a registrar's office in the city of Munich in Germany.
By the looks of it, the two sisters selling this watercolor promise that, as soon as they get their money, they will donate 10% of the profit to a charity whose working agenda boils down to looking after disabled children.
Hitler was a prolific artist
This might come as a bit of a surprise, but as it turns out, Adolf Hitler used to think of himself as a rather gifted artist. Thus, he took the time to create hundreds of paintings while he was still young, and even tried to get into the Vienna Art Academy. Unfortunately, he was rejected.
Historians estimate that about 800 artworks created by Adolf Hitler still exist in the world in this day and age, and people are free to sell and buy them as they see fit. Still, Germany does not allow the sale of any such paintings that have Nazi symbols included in them.
