Art critics have been left infuriated after an expert claimed works allegedly painted by Adolf Hitler and worth £271,000 could be fakes.
Mullocks Auctioneers, based in Church Stretton, Shrops, held 13 auctions between 2009 and 2018 to sell 77 lots of watercolours, oil paintings and sketches, apparently signed by the Nazi dictator.
But Dutch journalist Bart FM Droog, 52, has now alleged the paintings could be forgeries - as he claims most of the works attributed to Hitler worldwide are - because the style and materials of the works do not match.
The auction house said neither the vendors nor the auctioneers are responsible for the authenticity of works, as this falls to the purchaser, and said it was made clear before the sale the works might not be authentic.
An landscape of the town gate at Drnstein (left) and a village scene attributed to Adolf Hitler - which a Dutch journalist claims are forgeries
Hitler was a prolific artist before and during his rise to power having studied at art school in Vienna, Austria
Bart, who is now speaking out after a new 'Butterfly' Hitler watercolour is due to be sold by the auctioneers later this month, said: 'The majority of 'Hitlers' which surfaced after 1945 can be dismissed at first sight as forgeries.
'I don't want people to be buying this rubbish - almost all alleged Hitler artworks and other Hitler items offered by auction houses are fakes.
'Between 1910 and 1913 Hitler only produced watercolours depicting Viennese city sights, and only signed these works with 'A. Hitler' or 'A.H'.
'From his WWI period only one authentic Hitler work is known, a very clumsy watercolour portrait of one of his army buddies, made in 1915.
'But as far as we can tell, Hitler only ever painted in watercolour, whereas the portraits sold by Mullocks are also in oil and pencil.
'Auction houses get away with selling these pieces by saying they can't confirm whether it's authentic before anyone buys the artwork.'
An unsigned painting of the grave of Geli Raubels, Adolf Hitlers niece and possible lover, which is likely to have been painted by Hitler
