KREFELD.- Thanks to an amicable agreement, the City of Krefeld has been able to retain Heinrich Campendonk’s painting Wirtshaus (Tavern) as a permanent part of the collection of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. It originally belonged to the collection of the Jewish shoe manufacturer Alfred Hess. Together with the rightful heir of Tekla and Hans Hess, the Kunstmuseen Krefeld have arrived at a “just and fair solution.” The agreement was preceded by extensive provenance research, conducted on behalf of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld by recognized experts in the field and supported by the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste). Campendonk’s 1917 oil painting has been in the museum’s collection since 1948. It is one of the preeminent works of this Krefeld-born artist and leading protagonist of Rhenish Expressionism in the municipal art museums’ holdings.


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“In view of the crimes of National Socialism, we have a continuing responsibility to address the injustices committed as sensitively and meticulously as possible and, where indicated, to offer the victims of this injustice a just and fair solution. I am pleased that this result has been achieved in the case of the Campendonk painting and that—thanks also to the generous support of external donors—we have been able to permanently secure the work for our collection and for future exhibitions,” said Mayor Frank Meyer.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth: “Wirtshaus is a prime example of Campendonk’s talent for taking everyday scenes and using vivid colors and expressive forms to give them profound significance on the canvas. It is no coincidence that it belongs to the established canon of one of the most important art-historical periods. The federal government was therefore delighted to support the acquisition. I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to the heirs for their willingness to make this unique work permanently accessible to the public. In particular, its provenance makes it an important additional witness to the memory of those who were persecuted under National Socialist tyranny.”

North-Rhine Westfalia Minister of Culture Ina Brandes: “Injustices cannot be undone, but new injustices can be prevented. And this is exactly what has now been achieved by the agreement regarding Heinrich Campendonk’s painting Wirtshaus. I am very grateful that this work will remain on display in Krefeld in the future. With every single restitution of an artwork, we acknowledge the injustice done to the previous Jewish owners by the Nazi regime. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is deeply cognizant of this responsibility! This is why we created the Office for the Coordination of Provenance Research in North Rhine-Westphalia (Koordinationsstelle für Provenienzforschung in Nordrhein-Westfalen), the only agency of its kind in Germany, which offers expertise and assistance to museums, archives, and libraries, as well as to art dealers and private individuals regarding questions surrounding the provenance of looted artworks.”

Alfred Hess was a prominent art collector and patron who built one of the most important collections of Expressionist art in Germany. After his death in 1931, the collection was inherited by his son Hans. As a Jewish family, his wife Tekla and son Hans Hess were among those collectively persecuted by the German Reich. Hans Hess emigrated from Germany a few months after the National Socialists came to power, fleeing first to France and later to Great Britain, where he was followed by his mother in 1939. In 1933, she moved portions of the art collection, including the Campendonk painting, to Switzerland on a Freipass—a temporary export license—first to Basel and later to Zurich. In March 1937, she sent the painting, together with other works, back to Germany, to the Kölnischer Kunstverein.

In summer 1947, in response to an inquiry, the Kölnischer Kunstverein reported that the paintings it had previously held in storage were no longer there. Only in 1949–50, during the so-called “Cologne art forger trial,” did it become known that third parties had taken possession of some of the paintings, which had presumably been destroyed, and secretly sold them. The painting in question was not mentioned during the trial. By March 1947 at the latest, it was in the possession of Cologne art dealer Werner Rusche, who offered it for sale to the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld in February 1948. The museum had no information regarding the painting’s provenance when making the acquisition.

Taking all of these circumstances into account, the City of Krefeld has arrived at a just and fair solution together with the rightful heir. That solution rests on two foundations: the principles of the Washington Conference on Nazi-Looted Art (the “Washington Principles”) and the “Statement by the federal government, the Länder, and the national associations of local authorities on the tracing and return of Nazi confiscated art, especially Jewish property” of December 9, 1999 (the “Joint Declaration”). The painting was returned to the heir; at the same time, it was possible to arrange for the painting to remain a permanent part of the collection of Kunstmuseen Krefeld by repurchasing it. The acquisition was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Federal Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien), the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), and the Cultural Foundation of the Federal States (Kulturstüftung der Länder).

Prof. Dr. Markus Hilgert, General Secretary of the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States: “Heinrich Campendonk's painting Wirtshaus stands for a pivotal phase in the creative evolution of one of the most important exponents of Rhenish and German Expressionism. Given the artist's close personal connection to Krefeld, it is highly appropriate for the work to remain a permanent part of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld's collection. I am delighted that the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States has once again been able to successfully support the acquisition of an outstanding painting as part of a just and fair solution in accord with the Washington Principles.”

Heinrich Campendonk, who remained closely connected to his native city and the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum throughout his life, is represented in the collection of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld by works from all phases of his artistic development, but only three of these stem from the formative period before 1920. Wirtshaus, painted in 1917, belongs to the important transitional phase in which Campendonk broke away from the influence of the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) group of artists. Its companion piece, the painting Die Armen (The Poor) from 1918, is also in the collection of Kunstmuseen Krefeld. Both works are compelling reflections of the social injustices of the time and the threat of war, but also of Campendonk’s own isolation during this period, which prompted his return to the Rhineland after the war.

“Preserving this outstanding work for the collection was a matter very close to our hearts. We are very pleased and very grateful that we were able to arrive to this solution together with the heir and with support from our sponsors,” says Katia Baudin, Director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. “For us, researching the provenance of works in the collection and dealing responsibly with this cultural heritage is both an obligation and a core aspect of the museum’s work. In recent years, we were able to conduct provenance research on different aspects of the collection, and we are systematically going forward with this process.”

Gilbert Lupfer, Executive Chairman of the German Lost Art Foundation, says: “One of the most important tasks of the German Lost Art Foundation is to contribute to just and fair solutions that take the legitimate interests of the descendants into account and keep the memory of persecuted Jewish collectors alive. We are very pleased that the provenance research we supported at the Kunstmuseen Krefeld has led to just such an outcome.”

The painting is currently on display at the KWM in Collection in Motion, an exhibition of works from the permanent collection.



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