MAINZ, Germany – A 1914 watercolor by Adolf Hitler is set to be auctioned this weekend. Saturday's sale will take place in Nuremberg, the site of mass Nazi rallies in the 1930s, and where the fascist party’s leaders were tried for crimes committed during World War II. The piece depicting the city of Munich’s old town hall and registry office was most likely painted before Hitler was drafted to fight in World War I, auctioneer Kathrin Weidler told NBC News. A starting price has been set at 4,500 euros (around $5,500) but Weidler expects it to bring in a higher sum. Potential buyers from several different countries, including the United States, have already declared an interest, Weidler added.
An original handwritten bill accompanies the painting, making it unique, Weidler said. "We have not heard of another case worldwide where a painting by Hitler with its original bill exists,” she said. The piece is being sold by two German sisters aged in their 70s who want to remain anonymous. Their grandfather bought the painting along with seven others by different artists at a Munich gallery in 1916, Weidler said. As a struggling young artist, Hitler painted hundreds of works, but was repeatedly rejected by Vienna's prestigious Academy of Fine Arts. In previous auctions, Hitler’s paintings have fetched tens of thousands of dollars, while others sold for a few thousand.
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