Adolf Hitler work that might have modified historical past for the higher up on the market
If his artwork had been bought when he painted them he may have been convinced to follow a career as an artist rather than become an evil Nazi dictator
Two Adolf Hitler paintings that could have changed the course of history for the better are up for sale. Had they been bought at the time he painted them the landscapes may have convinced young Adolf to remain an artist instead of becoming a Nazi dictator.
He produced hundreds of paintings between 1908 and 1913 in Vienna, Austria, but achieved little critical or commercial success.
Hitler went off to fight in WW1 then turned his attention to invading Europe.
The disillusioned dictator later wrote in Mein Kampf in 1925 that his artistic dreams were dashed by twice failing to gain entry to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
In August 1939, at the start of WW2, he told Brit ambassador Nevile Henderson: “I am an artist and not a politician. Once the Polish question is settled I want to end my life as an artist.”
Hitler was 20 when he created the two watercolours in 1909 and 1910 – shortly after his second rejection by the art academy.
The first is a 12in-by-7in work of a European-style house surrounded by trees and is signed ‘A Hitler 1909’.
A year later he painted the second – also personally signed – depicting an Austrian church tower with mountains in the background.
When his art career flopped he became leader of the Nazi Party in 1921 and Chancellor of Germany in 1933.
The pair, which have been owned by an international collector for several years, are expected to fetch £3,500 when they are auctioned on January 20.
Haydon Bottomley, saleroom manager of auctioneers Hutchinson Scott based in Skipton, North Yorks, said: “Adolf Hitler studied art in his early years in Vienna before turning to politics in the 1920s.
“These watercolours were bought in a private collection from an international collector who acquired them a few years ago, and wanted us to sell them.
“We don’t get involved in politics and our attitude is if it is legal to sell something we will sell it as it is not our place to judge.
“Hitler painted these artworks in a period when he improved as an artist.”
A batch of 14 watercolours and drawings by Hitler sold for £286,000 at an auction in Nuremberg, Germany, in 2015.
