The art-dealing activities of the Abels galleries (Hermann Abels, Aenne Abels, both Cologne) in the context of the holdings in the RuhrKunstMuseen and other museums in North Rhine-Westphalia, 1933(?)-1968

Between 1933 and 1968, Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen and Museum Folkwang, Essen – as well as many other museums in the Ruhr region – acquired numerous works for their collections from the well-known Cologne-based art dealer family Abels. A collaborative project was initiated by the two institutions to shed light on object biographies and also investigate the business structures and networks maintained by the two Abels galleries. The research objective of this project focusing on collections at the two institutions was to gain more precise knowledge about the provenance of the objects in question, but above all to gain a better understanding of the dealer activities pursued by these two important galleries of the German post-war period.

The starting point of the research project was the examination of a group of 37 works from the collections of Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen and Museum Folkwang Essen for potential cases of confiscation as a result of Nazi persecution. The number of items increased to 43 over the course of the project year. Context-based research was also to look into works of Abel provenance at the RuhrKunstMuseen and other associated museums in NRW and Germany. Since individual research by various museums has so far been mostly unsuccessful in clarifying the provenance of works with the provenance “Galerie Abels”, the aim was to gain more precise knowledge of the Abels family’s art dealer networks during the Nazi era and the significance of these networks in terms of the provenance of the works acquired through the Hermann Abels galleries and – in the post-war period – the Aenne Abels gallery.

The Cologne galleries run by the Hermann Abels siblings (Kunstsalon Hermann Abels and Gemäldegalerie Abels) and Aenne Abels (Galerie Aenne Abels) were a key driving force within the Rhineland art market up until the end of the 1960s, selling 19th century, Impressionist and Classic Modernist art to numerous museums in such regions as the Rhineland, the Ruhr region and Westphalia. The Abels family were previously very successful in the German art trade from the beginning of the 20th century onwards and were able to continue their business(es) during the National Socialist era, too. After Hermann Abels was called up for military service, Aenne Abels was appointed managing director of the gallery. Like her brother, she worked for Sonderauftrag Linz – the organisation tasked with collecting works of art during the Second World War.

Funded by the German Lost Art Foundation, the project began on 26 June 2017 and ended on 30 June 2018. Collaboration between Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen and Museum Folkwang was to enable synergies in research and provide access to further archives and collections, and on this basis the sources have now been significantly expanded. In addition, the museums of the RuhrKunstMuseen and museums in Münster, Cologne and Düsseldorf actively supported the research project, providing access to their archives for this purpose. In the course of the context-based research, works with Abel’s provenance were viewed at Ruhrkunstmuseen and other associated museums in NRW and Germany. The results are essential in terms of future provenance research. Accordingly, a section entitled “Galerien Abels” was set up in the portal of the German Lost Art Foundation which is divided into four sub-sections: here, the research outcomes are presented so that they can be continuously built on, updated and made available for further provenance research in the long term and on a lasting basis. Access to this website section is available on request. At the same time, the cooperating museums will provide extracts of the results and research on their websites as a direct, transparent source of information for the public.

Systematic investigation of the art-dealing activities of the two galleries yielded insights into their business practices and their business relationships as well as other links with decision-makers in museums, collectors, artists and other art dealers during the Nazi era. Meanwhile, the knowledge of the dealer networks gained in this way helped clarify the provenance of the paintings and prints acquired from these galleries. Due to the fact that Hermann and Aenne Abels continued their trading activities during the Second World War and after 1945, acquisitions with this provenance have been scrutinised for cases of confiscation as a result of Nazi persecution.

Since neither an estate nor accounts of the Abels galleries can be found, the research also involved drawing up a “reconstruction” of such records. This is based on all the works that the project showed to have been traded through the galleries, both at the RuhrKunstMuseen and at museums throughout Germany (including Munich, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne). As such the collaborative project between Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen and Museum Folkwang succeeded in generating synergy effects for targeted object and network research, as was originally hoped.

The starting point of the research project was the examination of a group of 37 works from the collections of Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen and Museum Folkwang Essen for potential cases of confiscation as a result of Nazi persecution. During the project year, the research was extended to six further works, bringing the total number of works to 43: 11 from the Museum Folkwang collection and 32 from the holdings of Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen.

© Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen