Art linked to Hitler auctioned

LOSTWITHIEL, England -- Watercolors and sketches attributed to Adolf Hitler sold for twice their estimated price at an auction Tuesday -- but the sale in a tranquil English town was met by two protestors.

The works, reputed to have been created by Hitler as he served in the German military during World War I, sold for $220,000 after security staff removed the gatecrashers -- one of whom dressed as the Nazi leader and shouted "Third Reich" after making a mock bid.

A second protester, Aaron Barschak, previously gained notoriety by dressing up as Osama bin Laden and crashing Prince William's 21st birthday party in 2003.

Chris Walton, a spokesman for Jefferys Auctioneers, said the 21 watercolors and two sketches, most of them landscapes, sold individually for prices from $6,100 to $19,975. The highest price was for a painting titled "The Church of Preux-au-Bois."

Auctioneer Ian Morris said most of the successful bidders did not want to reveal their identities or speak to journalists.

"There may be a stigma attacked to buying Hitler art," he said.

One bidder -- who refused to give his name -- said he was an Estonian acting on behalf of an Eastern European businessman.

"I think they are probably being bought for business -- the paintings are not very good and it's not nice to have a 'Hitler' on your living room wall," he said.

Barschak's wife, Tamara, said her husband and Peter Cunningham, who dressed as Hitler, considered the sale offensive.

"It's not a surprise that when they did decide to hold it they chose a quiet village in Cornwall," she told reporters outside the sale.

"If it was in London, there would have been protests. Adolf Hitler was a mass murderer, and to make money from that is wrong."

"It's in very bad taste," said Rhonda Barad with the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy group. "Most auction houses have steered clear of such sales because it offends a lot of people still alive today."

A gaggle of around 50 military buffs and curious neighbors gathered in the small Cornish town to bid for the works, depicting scenes of cottages, churches and pastoral hillsides. Buyers of Hitler items are usually collectors of military memorabilia or World War II enthusiasts, according to art dealers and auction houses say.

The works auctioned Tuesday were found in a farmhouse in Flanders. Though the anonymous owners had the paper tested to determine its age, and the paintings examined to confirm the signature and match landmarks in the paintings to sites where Hitler had served, it cannot be proven if the works are genuine, Walton said.

Hitler is thought to have painted hundreds of pieces before becoming Nazi leader. In the past, his paintings have sold for $5,000 to $50,000.

In many European countries, including Germany, it is illegal to buy, own or sell Nazi memorabilia.