Ulay Interview: How I Stole a Painting

The story of one of the most radical performances in art history told by German artist Ulay ( - ), who in 1976 decided to steal Hitler’s favourite painting from Berlin’s national museum and hang it in the home of a Turkish immigrant family. “This particular painting you could say was a German identity icon.” In 1976 Ulay decided to steal the painting ‘Der arme Poet’ (The Poor Poet) (1839) by Carl Spitzweg, which was said to be Hitler’s favorite painting. By stealing the painting from the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) in Berlin, Ulay broke away from what he had done previously, aiming “to give a strong signal about what I was about as an artist at the time.” “All I wanted to do was get this painting, steal it, run out of the museum with my hands and feet, no technique or assistance for doing this.” After he succeeded in getting the painting out of the museum, Ulay drove – with the museum guards at his heels – to Kreuzberg, which was known as a ghetto for immigrants. Here, Ulay ran t