1

ADOLF HITLER CHURCH INTERIOR WATERCOLOR PAINTING

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Militaria Start Price:5,000.00 USD Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
ADOLF HITLER CHURCH INTERIOR WATERCOLOR PAINTING
Watercolor painting on board attributed to Adolf Hitler and so signed "A. Hitler 1912" at lower left, 18 1/4" x 19 1/2" on heavy art board, an ornate interior view of a church showing statues of cherubs, a bishop, religious paintings, and various accoutrements, with a lone faceless congregant seated at the extreme lower left. The verso bears the red printed paper seal of the store belonging to Samuel Morgenstern. Morgenstern, an Austrian Jew, owned a frame store in Vienna and bought most of Hitler's early paintings for resale...largely to his Jewish clientele. The work bears many similarities to proven examples of Hitler's style: lack of people in the image, which Hitler was unable to draw with any competence, a concentration on architectural style, and most importantly, a rather poor sense of perspective - a fault which would result in Hitler's rejection from art school. Fine condition. This painting is cited on p. 150 (plate 268) in the Billy Price reference Adolf Hitler: The Unknown Artist (Houston: Price Publishing Co.) 1984. Price describes the piece as Interior of the Franciscan Church, held by a private collector in the U.S. and he credits the photo to Peter Jahn. Jahn has been widely recognized as an authenticator of Hitler's artworks. A rare, oversize Hitler painting, and one of only two interior views known - likely commissioned by Morgenstern for a client.