Painting by 'degenerate' artist banned by the Nazis that was feared lost for 80 years stuns the art world by selling for £6million

A painting by an artist who was banned by the Nazis and labelled a 'degenerate' by the regime has sold for an incredible £6million. 

Having previously only been seen in black-and-white photographs, the painting Tanz im Varieté - painted by German expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - appeared at a Berlin auction house earlier this year.

Kirchner, who is known for his abstract works, was included on the Nazis 'degenerate art' list which saw over 600 of his works that were sold or destroyed under the  regime.

It was thought that Tanz im Varieté was among them and never to be seen again, until it resurfaced in what has ben labelled as a 'sensation' by art historians.

The painting, dated to 1911, depicts a black man and a white woman dancing the cakewalk in a crowd at a party - a dance that was made popular by African-American dancers across Europe in the early part of the 20th century. 

Although the painting was owned by a jewellery designer in 1944, it was kept hidden in a heavy duty crate on a farm in the countryside. 

Having remained protected from aerial bombardment and the risks of the Nazi party finding it as a result, the crate was discovered in 1945.

When French troops took the village where the painting had been stored, they discovered that the canvas had been damaged by a bullet and stabbed with a bayonet.

Auction house Ketterer Kunst said that a bullet hit the head of one of the female dancers on the left while the male dancer's torso was pierced.

After French soldiers left the crate with the painting behind, it was able to be rescued and restored.

The piece's owner then gave the painting to his two children in 1980 on his 75th birthday and requested that they display it for the public in the future. 

While the painting has now sold, the previous owners chose to maintain anonymity.

Although previous damage remains visible on the work's reverse side, it was still sold for an enormous sum at Ketterer Kunst on Friday.

The sale exceeded the auction house's expectations by fetching €6,958,000 (£5,875,509) - more than double than the €2,000,000 it had been estimated to sell for beforehand.

Commenting on its sale, the auction house said: 'The work has literally been waiting in the wings of art history for a century to step into the limelight,' according to The Independent.

They continued by saying that the painting 'is a homage to the golden age of entertainers who, before the First World War, sent audiences into ecstasy with their show dances.'

Kirchner died in Switzerland in 1938 in what was believed to be a suicide at the time due to his belief that the Nazis would invade Switzerland, which never ultimately proved to be the case. 

However, historians have since favoured the possibility that he was likely shot in the heart by another individual.

Theories attempting to find those responsible for the artist's death include his partner, neighbouring farmers or local Nazis pulling the trigger.  

To this day, the actual circumstances surrounding his death are still uncertain.