Provenance research in the municipal art collection

The project launched on June 1, 2016, focused on acquisitions made by the city of Karlsruhe. These acquisitions were made on the problematic art market during the National Socialist era and can be identified in the Städtische Galerie’s inventory. Nearly half of the 42 works come from auctions at Kunsthaus Wilhelm Ettle in Frankfurt am Main, meaning that the question of its relationship with Karlsruhe was particularly acute. The city also acquired objects from Carl Gustav Boerner in Leipzig and from Dr. Ernst Hauswedell in Hamburg and—after the Second World War— from Mathias Lempertz in Cologne, and from Galerie Fritz C. Valentien in Stuttgart. As well as the issue concerning the criteria of a municipal art policy during the Nazi era, the search for the individuals involved was also crucial.

The acquisitions made mainly concerned artists whose biographies were associated with the city of Karlsruhe. Besides works by Ludwig Dill (1848–1940) acquired from Ettle, and by Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880) acquired from Boerner, works by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (1807–1863) were also purchased. Prints by Schirmer were bought from both Ettle and Boerner, and a number of his oil sketches were purchased at Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, in 1954.

This observation also raised the question of what alliances there were in the city, where two institutions had existed since the 19th century—the Badische Kunsthalle and the Großherzogliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste—which, in view of their founding history, saw themselves as responsible for the recent past, especially since the city had no exhibition venue of its own. Acquisitions by Franz Reder-Broili, Nicolas Gilles and Christian Sell, who did not fit in with a possible regionally-focused collecting concept, were added.

The project in numbers

The 42 works examined in total (paintings and drawings) are by 20 artists.At the start of the project, all 42 acquisitions made by the city in the problematic art market between 1938 and 1945 were placed in the orange category according to the color scale specified by the German Lost Art Foundation. Of six works that had to be classified as losses or disposals, three could not be dealt with; the other three were placed in the green category (1) and the yellow category (2) following research. After clarifying a total of 24 works, 15 works remain; these have been placed in the yellow category (see list of works and color scale).

Provenance for the period 1933–1945 can be reconstructed and is not suspicious. It can be proven that the item is not Nazi-confiscated property and further investigation is not required: 24

Provenance is not entirely clear for the period 1933–1945. There are gaps in provenance, or it cannot be considered unsuspicious with certainty. The origin needs to be researched further: 15

Provenance for the period 1933–1945 is questionable as there are indications that the item was seized in connection with Nazi persecution. There is an urgent need for further research into the origin of the item: 0

Provenance is unequivocally suspicious for the period 1933–1945. In addition to searching for living heirs who are entitled to the item, a report must be entered in the Lost Art Database: 0

Transparency

By agreement with the management of the Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, a public lecture on the collection history and the state of provenance research at the gallery was held on March 21, 2018 (see annex 01/lecture).

Once the final report has been submitted, the Städtische Galerie’s database (Access) and website will be updated. Since most of the works examined are in storage, there are plans to present individual objects and cases in the collection at different times. Each of these may be announced as a special event in the Städtische Galerie’s monthly program.

(c) Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe