Dr Curt Glaser, Berlin (1879-1943); his sale, Max Perl (Berlin), 18-19 May 1933, lot 757; purchased there by Count Antoine Seilern (1901-1978); Princes Gate Bequest 1978. This drawing was formerly in the collection of Dr Curt Glaser (1879-1943), the German Jewish art historian and collector. Glaser was the Director of the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek in Berlin until April 1933 when he was forced to resign his post as a result of the Nazis’ Laws for the Reestablishment of Civil Service, forbidding Jews from holding positions in the civil service and other professions. He sold the greater part of his collection of paintings and works on paper in two auctions in Berlin in May 1933. This drawing was acquired by Count Antoine Seilern, and in 1978 formed part of the Princes Gate bequest to the Home House Society (now the Samuel Courtauld Trust) for the benefit of The Courtauld Gallery. It shares this provenance with seven other drawings in The Courtauld’s collection. In 2003, Dr Glaser’s heirs submitted a claim for restitution of these eight drawings. Considering the claim in 2009, the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel found that the sale was not forced and that the prices paid for the drawings were fair. The Panel recommended therefore that the drawings should remain in ownership of the Samuel Courtauld Trust, held for public benefit at The Courtauld Gallery, London. The Panel also recommended that a note outlining the history and provenance of the drawings during and since the Nazi era should be included whenever they are displayed. Read the Spoliation Advisory Panel’s full report: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/248231/0757.pdf

A Berlin TrendSetter: The Fate of Curt Glaser and his Collection, Kunstmuseum, Basel, 22/10/2022-12/02/2023

'Der Sammler Curt Glaser Vom Verfechter der Moderne zum Verfolgten,' ed. Anita Haldemann, Judith Rauser, Kunstmuseum Basel, 2022.
cat. no. cat. 218
pp. 95, 96, 107, 229

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Stamp: Mount (Seilern’s), Verso of back cover: lower left corner, stamped in blue: coat of arms, encircled by words: “Vom Bundesdenkmalamt zum Ausfuhr freigegeben”.

Inscription: Recto: upper left corner, graphite: “2”; lower left, graphite, signed and dated: “Lovis Corinth 1911”. Verso: upper left, graphite: “B.U. Glaser”; lower left edge, graphite, lot number from Curt Glaser sale held 18-19 May 1933: “757”.

Collector's mark: none.