Provenance research on Otto Dix’s “Portrait of Max John”, 1920

Otto Dix

Portrait of Max John, 1920

Oil on paperboard

63 x 43 cm

cat. 1920/16

Otto Dix’s “Portrait of Max John” has been located at the Städtische Museen Freiburg since 1959. It was offered for sale by Roman Norbert Ketterer at the 33rd auction of the Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett and comes from the collection of Dr. Conrad Doebbeke. The painting was bought by the Augustinermuseum at this auction. In 1985, it was put on display in the Museum für Neue Kunst, which had been founded that same year as the city’s museum of modern and contemporary art with artworks from the collection originally compiled by the Augustinermuseum. Since then, the portrait has occupied a prominent position in the permanent collection as a focal point of the Expressionist and New Objectivity painting section.

Prompted by a request from the heir of the Dresden collector Dr. Fritz Salo Glaser, the first research activities into the provenance of the painting began in 2004. The reference to a 1929 Dresden exhibition catalog, in which the painting is listed for the first time with the corresponding owner’s details, clearly proves that it originates from the collection owned by Glaser. When the heir put her restitution claim to the city of Freiburg in 2007, the crucial question for all further deliberations was what route had the painting taken since it was first mentioned in 1929. It was not possible to completely clarify the provenance of the work despite further research on both sides. It has thus remained unclear to this day exactly when the painting came into Conrad Doebbeke’s possession. However, a clue is provided by a copy of an undated fragment of a letter from Glaser which surfaced among the papers of his estate. In it, he comments on the course of the war and the destruction of German cities, which means it was very likely to have been written between 1942 and 1944. Glaser also writes of his intention to sell the painting and expresses the hope that he might have already found a potential buyer. There are no other references to a precise date or sale price. The difficult personal circumstances experienced by Glaser as a Jew in the National Socialist era mean that it is very likely the artwork was sold as a result of persecution.

The external provenance researcher comes to this conclusion in her extensive report which was commissioned by the city of Freiburg, in addition to its own research. The report ends with the recommendation to proceed in line with the Washington Principles of 1998 and the subsequent Joint Declaration of the German federal government, the federal states and the leading municipal associations of 1999, and to reach a just and fair settlement. The city of Freiburg recognized its obligation to bring about such a settlement. In negotiations with the heir of Dr. Fritz Salo Glaser, it proved possible to find a solution that balanced the needs and interests of both parties. The “Portrait of Max John”, one of Otto Dix’s most important works, will therefore remain permanently in the Museum für Neue Kunst for the city of Freiburg and a wide public audience. This was made possible thanks to support from the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States and the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung.

(c) Städtische Museen Freiburg