You’ve got to love the contrarian and cantankerous Gerhard Richter who has previously mocked the market valuations of his own works. Following reports that Georg Baselitz was pulling his works on loan to state museums after German officials had proposed additional regulations that might limit the sales of works by German artists. When asked by another German newspaper, Richter quickly seconded Baselitz, “I would do the same as he. Get Images from museums, bring quickly to the market.”

Though the artist was quick to point out that it was too soon to make that decision because the law was still only in draft form. But when asked whether it was not a good thing to protect “national treasures,” Richter had these objections to the idea:

Because there are several aspects. First, it is an interference with the freedom. Nobody has the right to tell me what I do with my pictures. Secondly, I do not think nationally in the art. The world has grown together. I think it’s good when the art in as many places in the world has a home. The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden have a banner posted, which speaks of “a house full of foreigners”. Should that no longer apply in the future? Third: What is this, “national treasure”? Who can be removed to determine which artwork is significant and what is not?

Gerhard Richter: Pulls it also from his paintings from Dresden?  (MOPO24)