What does it mean to find André Schoeller in the provenance of an artwork?

André Schoeller in 1946 ALIU Red Flag Network

The investigators of the Art Looting Investigation Unit linked the name of André Schoeller to notorious Nazi art looters Bruno Lohse and Adolf Wuester, as well as a highly suspicious art dealer named Petrides.  

What does it mean to find André Schoeller in the provenance of an artwork? Or as the author of a catalog which contains provenance information?

To which person does the name "André Schoeller" refer?

There is the André Schoeller (1879–1955) who was arrested for his role in Nazi art looting during the Occupation, and there is his son, also named André Schoeller, who died in 2015 amid praise for his art expertise.

In this post we attempt to clarify the different André Schoeller(s), gathering archives, news articles and authority files. The update is ongoing...

1. 1946: ALIU Red Flag List

In 1946, the Office of Strategic Services Art Looting Investigation Unit wrote about André Schoeller in its Final Report:

Schoeller, Andre. Paris, 13 rue de Teheran. Well known expert in French 19th century painting. President of the Art Editors Syndicate and appraiser for the Hotel Drouot. Appraised paintings confiscated by the ERR. Sold extensively to Wuester, Brueschwiller and Lohse. Possibly involved in the Schloss Collection confiscation, as informer.

"Expert in French 19th century painting, President of the Art Editors Syndicate and appraiser for the Hotel Drouot" - this is not a minor figure but a highly connected, influential art market actor.

As for the Hotel Drouot, it is a major French auction house that operated throughout the Nazi occupation of France.

Drouot, Hotel. Paris, 6 rue Rossini. Most important art auction firm in Paris, which was allowed to operate during the occupation. Used by the Germans and collaborationist French dealers.

2. Intermediary for Hildebrand Gurlitt

Recent research has linked André Schoeller  (1879–1955) to Hildebrand Gurlitt (15 September 1895 – 9 November 1956) 

André Schoeller
Hildebrand Gurlitt’s papers yielded a total of 140 certificates of authenticity signed by André Schoeller (1879–1955). They testify to the important role the renowned art dealer and expert Schoeller played in Gurlitt’s Paris network. However, as in the drawing La Promeneuse (Lady Strolling) by Georges Seurat, it is not always clear whether Schoeller merely appraised the works or whether he was also actively involved in their sale.
After the war, Schoeller was sentenced to pay a substantial fine for unjust enrichment, but cleared of collaboration charges because he could provide credible evidence of having been active in the Resistance.

 - GURLITT: STATUS REPORT
Nazi Art Theft and its Consequences 3 November 2017 to 11 March 2018

3. Arrested by the French

André Schoeller (1879-1955) was indicted for trafficking with the Germans in looted art.

  

In her book Le Marché de L'Art sous L'Occupation: 1940-1944, Emmanuelle Polak indicates that the "dossier d'inculpation" is held at the Departmental archives of Paris (Archives départementales de Paris) in the court archives (archives du parquet général, pour la cour d'appel de la Seine)

4. An art expert with numerous publications from the 1940s

INHA, the Institut National de l'Histoire de L'Art lists 183 Drouot sales catalogs for which André Schoeller was the art expert, mostly from the 1940s when Paris was under Nazi Occupation. 

5. President of the Art Editors Syndicate (ALIU Report) and a founder of the SFEP -- "Syndicat Français d'Experts Professionelles".

6. Praised as a Fake Buster in 1953 Time Magazine article: Art True or False

In a small, brightly lighted Paris room, a group of connoisseurs intently studied a small canvas—a sunny Italian seascape dotted with boats and fishermen. After a second, a hawk-eyed old man in the center of the group shook his head. "False," he growled. "It was never executed by Corot. Take it away." Paris' celebrated art expert, 73-year-old Andre Schoeller, had just pronounced judgment on one more fake in the outbreak of art frauds that has plagued Paris since the war.

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817881,00.html#ixzz0z4TEe72w

7. A few more mentions of Schoeller

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https://www.lootedart.com/web_images/pdf2016/Vortrag-Tessa-Rosebrock.pdf

https://www.lootedart.com/web_images/pdf2016/Vortrag-Tessa-Rosebrock.pdf

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publication date: August 29, 2019
updated on: January 18, 2020
author: OAD
publisher: Open Art Data
url: https://www.openartdata.org/2019/07/andre-schoeller.html
licence: CCO
headline: What does it mean to find André Schoeller in the provenance of an artwork?
topic: looted art, André Schoeller, museums, provenance, ethics