ADRION Lucien (EN)

Lucien Adrion was a painter of Alsatian origin. Like Paul Pétridès, he was close to the propaganda services and to Paris art dealers. He took part in the organization of the trip to Germany for French artists, as well as in various sales of works of art, and served as guide and/or interpreter for German clients.

An Alsatian painter in the service of the Propagandstaffel

Lucien Adrion, an Alsatian painter born in Strasburg 25 May 1889, served in the German army during WWI owing to his Alsatian origin. During the Occupation, he was thus considered to be of German nationality and along with his family, was subjected to the obligations, military in particular, imposed at the time. In order to obtain an authorization to exhibit in the gallery of Odette Pétridès, whom he had known since before the war, he went to the Propagandstaffel during the autumn of 1940. There he met Captain Ehmsen, also a painter, and obtained from him the right to stay in Paris. Following that meeting, Adrion again met with Captain Ehmsen, at the request of Madame Pétridès, and obtained a laissez-passer for her husband, Paul Pétridès, who had remained in Marseille after the exodus.¹

Soon after, Adrion was in contact with the Propagandstaffel services, though it is difficult to determine for what reason. He was suspected of having obtained a post in the service of the Germans,² of having perhaps an office of his own in the hôtel Crillon,³ which he vigorously denied, claiming it was only on occasion that he rendered services to the Propagandstaffel.⁴ He agreed to act as a guide and interpreter for German clients in Parisian galleries, a service from which among others, Heinrich Hoffmann benefitted. During these gallery visits, he demanded that several dealers – among them Charles Vaumousse (1890-1950) and the gallery owner Alfred Daber, who brought Adrion to court for threats – remove art works from their windows, since they were by Jewish artists or prohibited by the German authorities.⁵

In 1941, in the service of the Propaganda-Abteilung (Propaganda Section), Adrion participated in the trip of French artists to Germany, to which were invited Charles Despiau, Paul Belmondo, Henri Bouchard, Paul Landowski, Maurice de Vlaminck, André Derain, Roland Oudot, Raymond Legueult, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Kees van Dongen, Othon Friesz and Louis Lejeune. Although Adrion claimed to have been present solely as an interpreter, the painter André Derain named him as having been one of the organizers of the event.⁶

These various services to the occupying authority allowed Adrion and his family to avoid repatriation to Germany.⁷ Furthermore, his position with the Germans allowed him to obtain advantages (laissez-passer, release, etc.) for a number of individuals, many of whom were unknown to him.⁸

A broker in works of art

During the Occupation, Adrion took part in various sales of art works.¹ After the war, he was suspected of intelligence with the enemy and illicit profits. He frequently worked with gallery owner Paul Pétridès and made purchases for Bernhard Boehmer. This was the case, for example, of a Van Gogh painting acquired by Pétridès and Adrion for 120,000 F and resold to Boehmer for 250,000 F.²

Affairs central to the accusations concerned a Rembrandt, La Mère. Adrion served as an intermediary in the 1941 sale of the painting by its owner, Maurice Escoffier, to Boehmer. It was after having met Georges Maratier at the Propagandastaffel, in conditions that were not made clear (Adrion claimed that Maratier came and proposed the Rembrandt himself, whereas on the contrary, Maratier stated that Adrion had proposed to buy it³), that the painting was acquired by Adrion for Boehmer, with Pétridès as intermediary.⁴ Adrion intervened in the sale of a second Rembrandt, Le Père. Again for Boehmer, he bought the painting from a certain Mlle Beauperthuis. In this affair, Pértridès acted as guarantee for Boehmer, Adrion being short of the necessary funds for the acquisition. Although Paul Pétridès played only a small role, he too received a commission, which evidenced the communal aspect of the two men’s work as intermediaries.⁵ Pétridès introduced Adrion to the D’Atri gallery, where he bought additional paintings for Boehmer.⁶ However, the two men stopped working together when a bronze remained unpaid for by Boehmer to Pédridès in June 1942.⁷ Pétridès strongly insisted on the fact that after his break with Adrion he ceased all commerce with the Germans, insinuating that it was because of pressure on the part of Adrion that he had dealt with them.⁸

Finally, the last important affair damaging to Lucien Adrion was that of the sale by Nicolas Matzneff of four Beauvais tapestries⁹ to Hildebrand Gurlitt. He did not know Nicolas Matzneff and was to serve as interpreter for Gurlitt. Accompanied by a cashier of the Banque Canadienne nationale, Marcel Victor Blondel, he went to the Banque de l’Union Parisienne to deposit a sum that is not clear: Blondel indicated it was 33 million francs, an amount confirmed by Adrion.¹⁰ But Matzneff only acknowledged the sum of 12,875,000 F.¹¹ Adrion was then requested to make purchases. He said he had supplied a sculpture bought from Rudier valued at 350,000 F, a camera and projector for 25,000 F as well as 50,000 F for transport to Germany to Dr Hans Lange and 12,000 F to a certain Etzard. He himself received a commission of 225,000 F.¹²

Postwar legal and financial procedures

After the war, Adrion was the object of various procedures. Originating in a detention warrant of 30 April 1945, he was imprisoned in Fresnes for undermining the internal security of the State, awaiting the decision of the judge on his case. The examining magistrate considered his detention necessary to bring out the truth. He was finally released after 15 months of detention on 20 July 1946 for medical reasons, among others.¹

The Comité national d’épuration des artistes peintres, dessinateurs, sculpteurs et graveurs sanctioned him with two years total prohibition to exhibit and sell, and to collaborate with any and all newspapers and reviews.² In parallel, the Seine civil court of first instance sentenced him to four months imprisonment,³ then by the Seine Comité de confiscation des profits illicites, which decided first on a confiscation amount of 790,720 F plus a 400,000 F fine,⁴ before deciding, in June 1953 on an exoneration of the entire amount,⁵ shortly before his death on August 9, 1953.