Willy Exner Oil Painting of Hitler

[Ron C.]

I am at a loss as to where to post this. It is not a photo and I did a search for something like it to see where it was posted....I gave up and posted it here. If it is wrong please move it for me.

I acquired this sometime during 1973-76 in Germany with the 8th ID as a JAG officer. I actually don't remember when, where, how much or anything else. I guess that is a result of the memory loss from my recent stroke. Sorry, starting to ramble already. I sometimes give too much info.

It appears to be an oil copy of the famous Exner painting done by someone named H. Sauthaff in 1940, and has "n. W. Exner" under Sauthaff's signature. I don't know what that means, but my guess is that it likely means something like by permission of Exner. It has 2 tears in it.....one near the signature and one up by the buckle of his cross strap. I never tried to have it repaired because there is nobody here qualified to do such repairs......and, since restorations to oil paintings can be expensive, I have no idea if it would be worth it. The tears are also part of history, and may have been damaged by war action, i.e. blast damage etc.. I don't really have any idea how it happened, since I didn't get it from a person whose family had it. Almost all the stuff I got was from fleamarket dealers, who were not military dealers. I was a bargain hunter.

A lot of the pictures speak for themselves, and I will let them "tell the story", such as it is. I really have no story with it.....just what I told above.

What I would like to know, if you can or would tell me, is what can you tell me about this, i.e. your opinion, any worth or desirability, and anything else you can.

Thank you,
Ron

[Erich B.]

Hello Ron,
I don't think it would be worth having the tears repaired, as the cost of the repair would far exceed the value of the piece. This would have been painted by an amateur artist, who, to his credit, did note that it was done 'n(ach) W. Exner'. It's a fair copy for an untrained painter, but not really close to the original. I would say it's worth between $50.00 and $75.00 if you can find the right buyer.
Erich

[Ron C.]

Hello Ron,
I don't think it would be worth having the tears repaired, as the cost of the repair would far exceed the value of the piece. This would have been painted by an amateur artist, who, to his credit, did note that it was done 'n(ach) W. Exner'. It's a fair copy for an untrained painter, but not really close to the original. I would say it's worth between $50.00 and $75.00 if you can find the right buyer.
Erich

Thanks Erich. At least my guess seems to have been correct!

Ron

[DanDan]

Bit more help???

I'm curious now... what would an original by Exner of Hitler be worth today?

[BrianK]

I would like to know too. I have the original pencil preliminary drawing of the Willi Exner painting, but can't find anyone in the US with the ability to authenticate Exner's art. Dealers won't give me any info because it is not for sale. So it will hang in my collecting room for the indefinite future. I've been advised not to post a picture here because of the possibility of it being bashed and hurting its value. Anybody who knows a legitimate authenticator please PM me.

[Br. James]

Hi Brian,

I think Tom Wittmann used to offer appraisal as one of the services his business provided; you might try contacting him to see if he still arranges appraisals. Of course I would assume that the appraiser would require a fee for his effort. Another approach would be to contact the National WWII Museum in New Orleans -- I believe they have a huge collection and would probably be able to arrange an appraisal...again, for a fee, and you would have to provide the sketch in all cases.

Hope this is helpful. Sounds like you have a fine artifact, the kind of which seldom survives when the finished painting is complete.

Br. James

[Thorsten B.]

Hello Ron,
I don't think it would be worth having the tears repaired, as the cost of the repair would far exceed the value of the piece. This would have been painted by an amateur artist, who, to his credit, did note that it was done 'n(ach) W. Exner'. It's a fair copy for an untrained painter, but not really close to the original. I would say it's worth between $50.00 and $75.00 if you can find the right buyer.
Erich

I agree to your statement regarding the painting in general - nonetheless I would expect a higher price in case of being offered and sold on the market or at an auction.
After all it is a period piece and - although "just" a copy of a well-known period original - the quality is there.

[Rick C]

A little, carefully applied, duct tape to the back of the canvas mending the damage & a $150 frame and you have a very nice display piece. Then, it's a $500 collectable.