Hitler paintings of 'no artistic value' to be auctioned in Berlin
A watercolour of a landscape in the Austrian Vent - Niedertal region attributed to former German dictator Adolf Hitler is pictured before an auction at Kloos house at a starting bid of 4,000 Euro ( REUTERS )
Three watercolour paintings attributed to former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler are being auctioned in Berlin.
The three works depict a river, a mountain landscape and a figure sat beneath a tree. All were created in the early 20th century, when a then-penniless Hitler churned out dozens of postcards and paintings for petty cash. His dream of becoming an artist was dashed when he twice failed to pass the entrance exam for the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.
A spokesman for Kloss auctioneers told Reutersthat the watercolours had "no artistic value", but that Hitler's signature at the bottom would add value.
Hitler's signature on one of the watercolours, dated 1910 (REUTERS)
"If you walk down the Seine and see 100 artists, 80 will be better than this," he said.
(REUTERS)
The painting's sellers did not want to be identified.
The starting bid for one of the watercolours is 4,000 euros. However, another of Hitler's watercolours, sold in Germany to considerable controversy, far exceeded its 48,000 euros estimate and sold for 130,000. The sellers, whose grandfather bought the artwork in 1916, donated 10 per cent of the proceeds to a disabled children's charity.
There are hundreds of paintings and other artworks by Hitler known to be in existence. Most are held by the US Army, which confiscated them after the allies defeated his regime at the end of World War Two. They are rarely sold in Germany due to his taboo status in the country, and auctions often attract angry protest from relatives of victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
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