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Ismar Littmann (1878-1934) was a German lawyer and notary in Breslau. In the 1920s, he built up an extensive art collection of contemporary artists such as Lovis Corinth, Max Pechstein, Erich Heckel, Otto Mueller and Max Liebermann. He financed his acquisitions primarily through loans and regularly used works of art as collateral for banks. When the loans were successfully repaid, he received the corresponding paintings back for free disposal. Littmann was able to service the loans until 1933 - even during the global economic crisis.

His professional, financial and personal situation deteriorated noticeably when the Nazis came to power and began to persecute Jews. In April 1933, for example, Ismar Littmann was forced to apply for re-admission to the bar association. His law practice was suspended until he was re-admitted with restrictions on 1 June 1933. Despite being re-admitted, he was no longer able to build on his previous business successes. At the end of 1933, he attempted suicide, which he survived, but died as a result on 23 September 1934.

With his death, his family lost any possibility of earning a living and finally got into financial difficulties. Against this background, his widow, Käthe Littmann, and his son, Hans Littmann, were forced to sell large parts of the art collection in the following years. They were no longer able to service the loans secured by works of art as a result of the economic hardship caused by the persecution. The works used as collateral for the loans were therefore also sold.

The painting "Eleonore von Wilke" by Lovis Corinth was one of these works. For a long time, it was not possible to determine whether the painting was one of the Littmann family's persecution-related losses due to crucial gaps in its provenance. In the meantime, sufficient facts and evidence about the circumstances of the loss have been gathered to suggest that the loss of the painting was indeed due to persecution and that it should therefore be restituted to the heirs.

Marion Ackermann, President of the SPK, says: "This case shows that researching provenance can sometimes take a long time, but gaps can still be closed even years later. And every closed case is a relief for the descendants. I am extremely grateful to the heirs of Ismar and Käthe Littmann for their generous gesture: they have donated the restituted work to the Alte Nationalgalerie."

"We are very grateful to the heirs of Ismar and Käthe Littmann for donating the painting "Eleonore von Wilke" to the Alte Nationalgalerie. Provenance research is an important topic for us, which we keep present in publications, exhibitions and permanent audio guide tracks. This donation following the restitution is of particular importance for the Alte Nationalgalerie and will be kept alive accordingly," says Anette Hüsch, Director of the Alte Nationalgalerie.

About the work and its provenance

The representative portrait, painted in 1907, shows the wife of the lawyer and art writer Dr Adolf von Wilke, a long-time friend of Lovis Corinth. Corinth's delight in costume and drapery is unmistakable in the depiction. In the catalogue raisonné and in old literature, the painting is listed under the title "Countess Finkh".

The painting belonged to the Littmann Collection from 1930 at the latest, as it is listed in a catalogue of the collection compiled in that year. There is also evidence that it came to the Littmann Collection directly from its first owner, Adolf von Wilke. The path taken by the work between 1930 and 1937 can be traced on the basis of numerous circumstances. They suggest that it was given by the Littmann family to the E. Heimann bank in Breslau as collateral for a loan at least until 1935 and remained unsold at two auctions in 1935. Finally, there is reliable evidence that the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts acquired the painting from the Heimann bank for RM 1,300 in May 1937.

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation had held the work in trust since 1965, after it had been offered to the State of Berlin by a private owner and subsequently handed over to the SPK.

Press photo for download: https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html