Rare Adolf Hitler Bronze Bust- Fritz von Graevnitz (1892-1959) # 3418
Over the years I have had quite a few hitler busts and each one is nice in its own way and this one is the first by this artist that I have seen. It is a veteran bring back and sits on its original base which is always a plus as most do not and has been in private hands since acquired many years ago. I am not sure who got these and I know there were not many cast, but if they were sold they certainly were not cheap as the casting and finish are over the top, even the Breker does not really compare. The owner took the time to research the bust and was able to obtain an original book on the artist published in 1939 and dating the bust to 1935 as well as a German language reference on his work, many of which are well known.
Graevenitz, a WWI veteran studied fine arts at the Academy of fine Arts in Stuttgart in the immediate postwar and his Hitler bust shown here was featured in 1935 at a show in Stuttgart hosted by Joseph Goebbels. In 1937 he was appointed as a teacher in the Stuttgart Academy and the year after director. His status within the N.S movement as an artist allowed him to have many works featured in the Munich House of Arts during the Great German Art exhibitions as well as in Vienna in 1943 for Junge Kunst im Deutschen Reich. After his death in 1959 the Graevenitz Museum was founded by his wife in 1971 and is still operates today.
This bust measures in at a total height of 16.5 inches and the original base is a green marble that is 3 inches in height. Condition on this is excellent and the piece has a very dark brown patina that has the typical handling but nothing to detract form the overall piece to speak of. It is a veteran bring back and it looks like it may have had a professional repair in the form of a weld at the rear plinth which i will photo and it gives the piece a slightly upward leer on the part of uncle Adolf which I will also photo. The cast itself is unlike any I have seen before in its quality and finish, these tend to be nice when you get in the upper end but this one is like a Lamborghini, its a beautiful bust and will certainly not disappoint.
Over the years I have had quite a few hitler busts and each one is nice in its own way and this one is the first by this artist that I have seen. It is a veteran bring back and sits on its original base which is always a plus as most do not and has been in private hands since acquired many years ago. I am not sure who got these and I know there were not many cast, but if they were sold they certainly were not cheap as the casting and finish are over the top, even the Breker does not really compare. The owner took the time to research the bust and was able to obtain an original book on the artist published in 1939 and dating the bust to 1935 as well as a German language reference on his work, many of which are well known.
Graevenitz, a WWI veteran studied fine arts at the Academy of fine Arts in Stuttgart in the immediate postwar and his Hitler bust shown here was featured in 1935 at a show in Stuttgart hosted by Joseph Goebbels. In 1937 he was appointed as a teacher in the Stuttgart Academy and the year after director. His status within the N.S movement as an artist allowed him to have many works featured in the Munich House of Arts during the Great German Art exhibitions as well as in Vienna in 1943 for Junge Kunst im Deutschen Reich. After his death in 1959 the Graevenitz Museum was founded by his wife in 1971 and is still operates today.
This bust measures in at a total height of 16.5 inches and the original base is a green marble that is 3 inches in height. Condition on this is excellent and the piece has a very dark brown patina that has the typical handling but nothing to detract form the overall piece to speak of. It is a veteran bring back and it looks like it may have had a professional repair in the form of a weld at the rear plinth which i will photo and it gives the piece a slightly upward leer on the part of uncle Adolf which I will also photo. The cast itself is unlike any I have seen before in its quality and finish, these tend to be nice when you get in the upper end but this one is like a Lamborghini, its a beautiful bust and will certainly not disappoint.