German publishing powerhouse Steidl Verlag, celebrated for photobooks by major artists such as Nan Goldin, Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, and Joseph Beuys, is confronting an uncertain outlook after coming close to bankruptcy.
The publisher has now resolved insolvency proceedings that were launched after the company was accused of withholding employee pay and failing to make social security contributions. Founded by Gerhard Steidl in 1968, the firm had already been under preliminary insolvency proceedings after a German agency overseeing part-time employment filed a claim earlier this month.
According to Der Spiegel, the company allegedly owed back wages to many employees, with some saying they had gone unpaid for as long as six months. By the time of its insolvency filing on July 10, the publisher reportedly had not paid a five-figure amount in wages, and several lawsuits brought by staff were still ongoing.
Der Spiegel also reported that Steidl withheld social security contributions, prompting the collecting agency Minijob-Zentrale to initiate insolvency proceedings. Gerhard Steidl blamed the company’s financial troubles on United States tariffs and what he said was a 50% decline in the publisher’s international sales. In Germany, insolvency proceedings can in some cases result in the liquidation of a company’s assets to cover its debts.
The court proceedings against Steidl were closed on Thursday, July 23, after the company settled its claims, according to NDR. The publishing house has not yet responded to repeated requests for comment from Hyperallergic. Even so, Steidl reportedly had to give up rights to the works of one of its best-known artists, the late German literary and visual artist Günter Grass, as a result of the financial turmoil.
NDR reported that the Günter and Ute Grass Foundation claimed the rights to Grass’s works after Steidl repeatedly missed payments. Despite the public difficulties, Steidl has said he remains hopeful about the publisher’s future. “What has improved significantly now, due to this economic crisis — which I acknowledge and which is actually improving daily — is that we are now over the worst of it and are managing to make ends meet,” Steidl told NDR. “A total of twelve serious investors have now contacted us: four from Switzerland, three from the USA, two from Singapore, and one from Korea.”
