Private art trade in Dresden after 1945

The history of private art and antiques dealers in Dresden immediately after the end of the Second World War and during the GDR era is the subject of a research project by the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) at the Albertinum which is being conducted in collaboration with the German Lost Art Foundation. Dedicated to a topic on which little research has been done to date and presenting the initial outcomes after a year of investigation, the cabinet exhibition Privater Kunsthandel nach 1945 in Dresden. Einblicke ins Forschungsprojekt, [Private art trade after 1945 in Dresden. Insights into the research project] is on show at the Georg-Treu-Kabinett until 3 March 2024. Funded by the Foundation, the project is initially scheduled to run for two years.

It specifically focuses on the period after 1945 when there was an established private trade in art and antiques in Dresden. It was only from the 1970s onwards that this was systematically suppressed by state institutions and measures and, with a few exceptions, dissolved. During this period, the state-owned art-dealing company Kunst- und Antiquitäten GmbH – Internationale Gesellschaft für den Export und Import von Kunstgegenständen had a key role to play, not least in procuring foreign currency for the GDR.

For the first time, the research project aims to systematically record and analyse the non-state art market in the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR. This work is set to make a vital contribution to provenance and art market research, while at the same time underpinning a reappraisal of the history of the SKD itself during the GDR era. The project will involve the viewing of numerous archival documents and the compilation of information on the private art trade. The SKD is also carrying out research across all its collections into acquisitions from Dresden-based art and antique dealers. In addition to important documents from the archives of the museum association and the private archive maintained by Dresden art dealer Alphons Müller (1909-1972), sources from the manuscript collection of the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) and the Saxon State Archives will be incorporated and included in the exhibition. The material obtained will be systematically analysed and compiled into a kind of encyclopaedia on the individual dealerships and protagonists.

The exhibition will present insights into key issues and initial research outcomes. It will also include presentations of selected art dealerships and interviews with contemporary witnesses.

In connection with the exhibition, city residents are invited to share materials such as photos of art dealerships, historical correspondence, receipts, acquired items and memories. 

All stories, descriptions, memories and photographs can be sent to: projekt-kunsthandel@skd.museum or to the postal address: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden | Albertinum/Projekt “Privater Kunsthandel nach 1945 in Dresden” | Postfach 120551 | D-01006 Dresden, Germany