Distasteful 'sleeper' opportunity?
August 4 2011
Picture: Gottlieb Auctions
I recently highlighted the large auction market for Nazi-related items. But for the Nazi collector who has everything, how about a pair of portraits of Hitler's parents? They are on offer at Gottlieb Auctions in the US:
This is a rare opportunity to own an important piece of history: a set of oil paintings liberated from Hitler's mountain retreat. The two most important paintings in the group that was liberated are the original paintings that were commissioned by Adolf Hitler, depicting his parents Klara and Alois Hitler. [...]
Until recently, the whereabouts of these portraits were unknown. Currently owned by a family member of the French veteran who liberated them after the war, these paintings are presented for the first time to the collecting public and students of history alike.
The artist is unknown, but much as I like the challenge of finding the artist for unattributed paintings, I think I'll pass... These are expected to fetch as much as $100,000. The same auction house, incidentally, is also offering Hitler's desk set, used to sign the Munich Pact. Could there be a gloomier relic of history?
