A supposed Hitler watercolor of the old city hall of the German city of Munich went under the gavel almost thrice as much as its expected price — for a whopping $162,000 [130,000 euros].
In earlier reports, it was already pointed out that the value of the Hitler watercolor, titled aptly as “The Old City Hall”, was not so much on its artistry but on the person who supposedly sketched and painted it — none other than the notorious German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler himself.
According in Kathrin Weidler of the Weidler Auction House, the one in charge of selling the Hitler watercolor, the painting is at least one hundred years old as it is believed that Hitler painted it in 1914 while he struggled to make a living as an artist. Two decades later, he rose up as the infamous Nazi dictator who had the blood of millions of Jews in his hands.
The auction house’s director went on to say that the recently auctioned Hitler watercolor is just one of the 2,000 pictures painted by Fuehrer. But this Hitler watercolor is accompanied by its original bill of sale as well as a signed letter coming from Albert Bormann, brother the Fuehrer’s secretary, Martin Bormann, who also worked for dictator as his adjutant. From the content of the said letter it can be inferred that the painting’s owner during the Nazi era sent a photo of it to Albert along with a question about its origin. Bormann answered the query by saying that the Hitler watercolor ‘appeared to be one of the works of the Fuehrer”.
Put in auction by two retired sisters who, in turn, got it from their grandfather who bought it way back in 1916, the Hitler watercolor was expected to fetch 50,000 euros (£40,000) during its auctioning.
However, when it went down the gavel on November 22, Saturday, it exceeded that expectation almost thrice as much. It was bought by an unnamed buyer from Middle East for $162,000.
Kathrin Weidler, nonetheless, did not elaborate on the details of the auction except stating that it attracted buyers from four continents.