Eduard Fuchs Ein Pionier als Sammler und Schriftsteller

Abstract

Provenance research is not confined on identifying looted art. An intense engagement with the history of artworks generates findings on new aspects relevant also for art historical research in general. To call Eduard Fuchs (1870-1940) an important collector of works by Max Slevogt (1868-1932) is commonly accepted today. However, there is still no comprehensive account of this unusual friendship. Eduard Fuchs was one of the most innovative writers in Munich, as well as later in Wilhelmine Berlin. As editor of a satirical magazine, he discovered caricatures as authentic contemporary documents which he also used to illustrate his books. His history of manners became a bestseller, earning him the title “Sittenfuchs” (manners fox) as well as a fortune as author. Fuchs had discovered Slevogt in Munich already in 1893 while searching for talented illustrators at local art schools. The outcome of this first encounter was a lifelong friendship with one of the most important painters and graphic artists of German impressionism. With exception of the painting Der verlorene Sohn (The Lost Son), Fuchs purchased hardly any of Slevogt’s works from art dealers, yet directly in the latter’s atelier. Many of the works acquired by Fuchs were in fact complimentary gifts to the writer for sending copies of his recently published books or for donated lithographic works by Daumier. Ideas for new images and contract negotiations with publishers were often rewarded with draft drawings or oil sketches; personal dedications attest to their relationship. The most important link between the two existed in the Daumier collection, which Fuchs as its collector loved showing to Slevogt. That collection’s history is especially of interest during the time of National Socialism. It is not only the story of a victim, but also of successful resistance against art loot on the basis of an international network. This resistance proofed to be so strong that the Reich flight tax was at first cancelled by court ruling and many Slevogt works could be saved by transferring them to Kunsthalle Basel. In the end, however, Gestapo terror against his daughter Gertraud forced Fuchs to liquidate the collection at several auctions.