Recorded in the catalogue of works Kaus/Schmitt-Wischmann under No. 174 with the note "Whereabouts unknown (lost since being confiscated by the National Socialists in 1937, formerly Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections))".
Provenance
1931 – 18/05/1935 Max Kaus, Berlin | July – September 1933 "30 German Artists" exhibition at Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Berlin (on commission) | 18/05/1935 – 25/08/1937 Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections), Munich (purchased at the Große Münchener Kunstausstellung "Berlin Art" exhibition) | 25/08/1937 confiscation as part of the "Degenerate Art" campaign | up until 28/06/1941 German Reich, Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (RMVP), Berlin | 24/11/1938 – 1939 Book and Art Dealership Karl Buchholz, Berlin (18/01/1939, on commission; returned to the RMVP) | from 1939 to 1941 Bernhard A. Böhmer (on commission) | 1941 supposedly sold by Böhmer to Galerie Fischer in Luzern | 1945 – 1978 Friedrich Schult, Güstrow (probably received from the Böhmer estate) | 1978 – 1981 inherited by Erika Schult (Friedrich Schult's widow) | 1981 purchased by the Academy of the Arts, Berlin (East) in connection with the Friedrich-Schult estate from Erika Schult (emigrated to West Germany)
The painting Havelziehbrücke in der Mark by Max Kaus came to the Academy of the Arts in 1981 through the estate of Friedrich Schult (1889-1978), a teacher and artist from Güstrow. The work was shown from July to September 1933 in the exhibition of 30 German artists at Galerie Ferdinand Möller in Berlin, which was criticised for its "Modernism" and temporarily closed. According to information provided by the Ferdinand Möller Foundation, Möller probably received it on commission from the artist. However, it did not sell.
In May 1935, the painting changed owner and was renamed. As Handziehbrücke in der Mark, it was bought by the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections). The purchase files of the Pinakothek der Moderne state that the museum bought the artwork for 575 Reichsmarks from the Berliner Kunst (Berlin Art) exhibition as part of the Große Münchener Kunstausstellung (Catalogue No. 133), most probably directly from the artist. On 25 August 1937, the painting was then seized as "degenerate" and assigned EK (Degenerate Art) Number 15460. In 1939, Bernhard A. Böhmer, one of the four main dealers assigned to "utilise" seized artworks, was able to take possession of it on commission. According to the "Degenerate Art" inventory of the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, he supposedly sold the painting on 28 June 1941 for 10 Swiss Francs to the Galerie Fischer art auction house in Luzern.
However, it is more likely that Böhmer kept the work.
Bernhard A. Böhmer (1892-1945) and Friedrich Schult knew each other through Ernst Barlach (1870-1938). Both lived in Güstrow and managed Barlach's estate after his death.
After the Second World War and the suicide of Bernhard A. Böhmer, Schult managed to get the works previously considered "degenerate" out of the house and other storage locations to keep them safe from the Red Army. In his diary, he notes on 28 May 1945: "In the Grenzburg … 1 Kaus (for me)". The Grenzburg was a depot set up by Böhmer for "degenerate art". The Kaus painting he mentions may have been the Havelziehbrücke.
In 1947, the Soviet military administration assigned Berlin native Kurt Reutti to trace "degenerate art", who together with Friedrich Schult found the remaining stock from the Böhmer estate in Güstrow. Reutti handed over almost one thousand artworks to the Museum of the City of Rostock. Archival records of the Archives of the Akademie verify that the Havelziehbrücke by Max Kaus, according to information provided by his widow, was already in the possession of Friedrich Schult before they married in 1947.
The stated categorisation as "unquestionable" currently refers to the provenances in the area of what is known as Nazi stolen art. In relation to acquisitions during the GDR era, further research would appear to be required. The inventory card notes that the picture was given to the Academy as a gift in 1981 by Erika Schult. However, the conditions under which the widow had to give up and sell objects from her husband's estate because she was leaving for West Germany are unclear.
Another artwork from the Schult estate is also part of the art collection of the Akademie: a sculpture of Aristide Maillol, the provenance of which was also critically researched as part of the project.