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Compte rendu par Ingrid Leonie Severin, Leuphana University Lüneburg Nombre de mots : 1764 mots Publié en ligne le 2019-03-13 Citation: Histara les comptes rendus (ISSN 2100-0700). Lien: http://histara.sorbonne.fr/cr.php?cr=2844 Lien pour commander ce livre
The art historians Patrick Golenia, (now Auktionshaus Grisebach), Kristina Kratz-Kessemeier, and Isabelle le Masne de Chermont, head of the Manuscript Department at the Bibliothèque de France in Paris (early provenance researcher in France), present a study of the history of the Berlin art market and trade within the wider framework of the European art-market after WW1 to the 1940s by reconstructing and analysing the activities of one of its key figures, the Jewish art dealer and auctioneer Paul Graupe. This carefully researched book, a result of a bilateral German-French cooperation, is highly valuable as it helps to approach this period with archival sources on a transnational level and thus represents an outstanding example of this kind of collaboration.
Paul Graupe’s antiquarian bookshop became one of the most famous auction houses in Berlin. Between 1916 and 1936 Graupe held 148 auctions in which he sold early printed books along with decorative prints and drawings. In that short period Graupe auctioned great libraries and collections. (For quick reference: Paul Graupe https://ilab.org/articles/paul-graupe)
Paul Graupe’s role from 1933 is quite difficult to grasp as the monograph shows this with valuable detail: on the one hand he sold art of Jewish provenance and worked for the regime acquiring foreign currencies. On the other hand and at the same time he himself underwent discrimination due to his Jewish origin and had to emigrate. This career came to end when the Nazis forced him to hand his business over to Hans Walter Lange in 1936. Paul Graupe emigrated to Paris where together with Arthur Goldschmidt continued dealing with rare books and prints. In 1940 their business was confiscated. Graupe was once again forced to emigrate, to Switzerland and later to New York where he restarted his business.
The chapters in the book are arranged linearly. The first chapter – parts of the master thesis of Patrick Golenia, describe the different steps in the life of Paul Graupe from a small bookseller to a well known art auctioneer, the rise of his business through his auctions between 1916 and 1937 (I The Market determines the business 1907-1933), his innovative marketing measures (part II), and his activities in Berlin from 1933-1937 to the business task there (III), his restarting in Paris 1937-1939 (IV), the years of exile in Switzerland and New York 1939-1945 (V) to the intensive post-war restitution efforts from 1945 onwards.
Meritorious are the details about all auctions carried out by Graupe. Graupe's auction house gained enormous presence in the German and international art market through their expertise, with their growing portfolio, their professional environment and network. Few references to examples of successful results of these auctions are given - a great desideratum however would be the missing result - they would be very instructive and helpful for provenance research, but most likely due to the currently available sources, this references would have disrupted the timeframe of Golenia's research.
A particularly laudable analysis is dedicated to Graupe’s marketing strategy up to the mid-1930s. These include advertisements, catalogues, his various business addresses, that evolve from intimate-small to representative, a particular concern is Graupe's public relations work, in which he knows how to incorporate various media, acts as publisher, charity auctions hosted, ads and other lavish promotional activities, e.g. Radio-transmission, using new media then he focused on a new target audience, the new bourgeois buyers in the emerging metropolis of Berlin. In addition his expansive network (including museums, collectors), very sensitively targeted customer care (personal references and letters, of which only a few are given) and generous private invitations. Golenia concludes with a special look at the carefully designed illustrated, auction catalogues – one of the key elements of marketing – appearing always in the same clear design, bound in blue. This catalogue became a sort of trademark for a then growing market with new customers.
With their mission to control every aspect of German life, Hitler’s Nazi Party attempted to regulate German culture especially the art market. In a small chapter Art Against Foreign Exchange - Graupe's Special Situation in 1936/37 Golenia describes the ambivalent role the auctioneer was holding in pursuing further auctions on an international level to acquire foreign currency for the Nazi regime. During this time people persecuted by the Nazis or political opponents did attempt to flee Germany from the mid 1930s on, at the end of 1936 Graupe and his wife also had to emigrate, to Switzerland, then London, arriving in Paris in July 1937.[2]
In Paris, Graupe founded the company Paul Graupe & Cie, together with four partners, a.o. Arthur Goldschmidt, This is the research area of Isabelle le Masne de Chermont. In Auf der Suche nach einem neuen Markt – Paris 1937–1939 - she thoroughly traces the dealers activities and attempts. Together with Arthur Goldschmidt and Käthe Simon, Graupe continued dealing with rare books and prints and tried to re-enter the Paris art market, which was just then recovering from a former recession. This was not easy due to the huge cohort of former German art dealers residing and trading in Paris during this period.
The beginning of the war soon marked a deep cut for the company in Paris. Graupe moved to neutral Switzerland in 1939-40. Goldschmidt was interned as a German national "enemy of the state". In this period and context Paul Graupe & Cie moved on highly controversial ground: Goldschmidt and Graupe did business with major players of Nazi art trading (e.g. Karl Haberstock ), but as Jews, they were victims of the Nazi administration themselves.
The firm was put under French forced administration. Their business was confiscated in 1940.[3] Graupe once again forced to emigrate, this time to New York, where he immediately started dealing with rare books and prints again. In 1945 he obtained the American citizenship. In 1945/46, still from New York Graupe made several efforts with French authorities to have the Paris holdings returned to him. Several works were restituted up to 1952. Graupe remained an active art trader, from 1947 onwards from Paris again. Compensation payments for the Paris losses could be obtained from Germany in 1969.
Paul Graupe & Cie, founded in exile, above all illustrates those intertwining interests in areas of the Third Reich art market, where personal discrimination and collaboration with the Nazis happened simultaneously. The book constitutes an excellent contribution to sharpen our knowledge about this period.
Formal: This carefully researched book is rounded up by 155 illustrations and sixteen colour plates exquisitely placed in counterbalance to the text, the images make convincing arguments in their own language. Very helpful and of high quality is the third part of the volume with footnotes and sources including a list of Archives and auction catalogues and the bibliography. There are some redundancies in the listing of Graupe’s auction catalogues within this part in footnotes and bibliographical sources. A this point, it would have been very useful if access had been given to more bibliographical information about the collectors whose collections were auctioned e.g. famous lawer Max Alsberg https://www.ub.hu-berlin.de/de/literatur-suchen/sammlungen/kustodie-neu/kunstsammlung/portraets/graphische-portraets or the collector Max Silberberg from Brelau. (Monika Tatzkow, Max Silberberg (1878-1945) Breslau, [in:] Melissa Müller, Monika Tatzkow, Verlorene Bilder, verlorene Leben Jüdische Sammler und was aus ihren Kunstwerken wurde, München 2008). The placement of all footnotes at the end of all texts is slightly clumsy, as one is forced to go back and forwards in the book.
(One reference could be added: Flick Caroline, Zur Übernahme des Auktionshauses Paul Graupe durch Hans W. Lange; see the online-publication: wwww. carolineflick.de/publikationen/Uebernahme-des-Auktionshauses.pdf (2013). (online 26.10.2018)
The book is a highly commendable model for this kind of research next to Meike Hopps, Kunsthandel im Nationalsozialismus, Adolf Weinmüller in München und Wien, Böhlau Verlag, Wien 2012, and hopefully further portrayals in this extraordinarily exciting field will follow.
[1] E.g. p.108f. and https://www.kulturgutverluste.de/Content/03_Forschungsfoerderung/Projekt/Museum-fuer-Kunst-und-Gewerbe-Hamburg/Projekt3_en.html;jsessionid=A9090EDC24DD238DB06FE7CB9C9EA08A.m7 [2] Recent insight into this transition: Caroline Frank, Jason Kaplan, Der Berliner Kunstmarkt: An Analysis of the Berlin Art Market, 1930–1945, in: Art Documentation vol. 37, no. 2 (Fall 2018), https://www.arlisna.org/publications/art-documentation. Letzter Zugriff 04.02.2019. They explore the Third Reich’s influence on the Berlin fine art auction market and includes a close examination of the auction houses Graupe and Lange, including Graupe’s transition to Lange after fleeing from anti Semitism in Berlin. [3] More on this topic: Doris Kachel: [Tagungsbericht zu:] Raub & Handel. Der französische Kunstmarkt unter deutscher Besatzung (1940–1944) (Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, 30.11. - 01.12.2017). In: ArtHist.net, 17.01.2018. Letzter Zugriff 04.02.2019. .
Content
I. Der Markt bestimmt das Geschäft: Graupes Weg vom Buchhändler zum Kunstauktionator in Berlin 1907–1933 I.1 Beginn als Antiquar 15 I.2 Etappen des Aufstiegs als Buchkunst- und Graphikauktionator zwischen 1916 und 1927 19 I.3 Die Zeit der Zusammenarbeit mit Hermann Ball bis 1933 – erweitertes Terrain 36 I.4 Cassirer, Plietzsch und Haberstock – Graupe im prosopographischen Vergleich 60
II. Persönliche Präsenz als Marketingstrategie bis Mitte der 1930er Jahre II.1 Geschäftsadresse(n) 63 II.2 Öffentlichkeitsarbeit 71 II.3 Netzwerk- und Kundenpflege 75 II.4 Die blauen Kataloge 84
III. Als jüdischer Kunsthändler im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland 1933–1937 III.1 Ein wachsender Markt mit neuen Kunden 92 III.2 Bedrohter oder Profiteur? Graupe im Kontext der Auflösung jüdischer Kunsthandlungen 1935/36 106 III.3 Kunst gegen Devisen – Graupes Sondersituation 1936/37 121 III.4 Graupe verlässt Berlin: Emigration und Geschäftsaufgabe 1937 127
IV. Auf der Suche nach einem neuen Markt – Paris 1937–1939 IV.1 Neuanfang mit der Gesellschaft Paul Graupe & Cie 134 IV.2 Zwischen deutschen Museen und internationalen Kunden : konkrete Geschäfte 149
V. Schweiz und USA 1939–1945 V.1 Graupe in der Schweiz, Frankreich im Krieg, Flucht aus Europa – das Ende von Paul Graupe & Cie im Kontext nationalsozialistischer Kunsthandelsinteressen 162 V.2 Jenseits des europäischen Marktes: Graupe als Emigrant in New York seit 1941 170
VI. Rückgaben und Entschädigungen nach 1945 – der Kampf um ein verlorenes Geschäft 183
Anmerkungen 198 Quellen- und Literaturverzeichnis 1. Archivalien 250 2. Gedruckte Quellen 256 2.1 Einzelveröffentlichungen bis 1945 256 2.2 Zeitungen und Periodika 257 2.3 Auktions- und Bestandskataloge 258 3. Literatur und Publikationen nach 1945 267 Abbildungsverzeichnis 276 Namensregister 294
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Éditeurs : Lorenz E. Baumer, Université de Genève ; Jan Blanc, Université de Genève ; Christian Heck, Université Lille III ; François Queyrel, École pratique des Hautes Études, Paris |
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