Sotheby's London Announces One of the Most Important Egon Schiele Oils as Centrepiece of June Impressionist & Modern Sale
Sotheby's London today announces that the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 22nd June 2011 will be highlighted by one of the most important oils by celebrated Austrian artist Egon Schiele ever to come to the market.Häuser mit Wäsche (Vorstadt II) from 1914–translated in English as ‘Houses with Laundry (Suburb II)’ –ranks among just a small number of significant cityscapes by Schiele remaining in private hands. The work now comes to the auction for the first time, with an estimate of £22-30 million / $36-50 million. First acquired the year it was painted by Schiele's friend and greatest patron, Heinrich Böhler, the canvas has been housed in the collection of the Leopold Museum in Vienna since 1952, an institution which boasts an exceptional collection of 20th-century Austrian art.
Peter Weinhäupl, Managing Director of the Leopold Museum, commented: "The Leopold Museum today is committed to affirming its position as the pre-eminent repository of Austrian Modern Art and the decision it has taken with this sale is a testament to this commitment. While this painting will be missed, the museum is fortunate to hold eight further Schiele cityscapes of superb quality in its collection."
Painted at the height of Schiele's short career, having died in 1918 at the age of 28, Häuser mit Wäsche (Vorstadt II) is one of the artist’s most impressive cityscapes. The painting is based loosely on motifs drawn from Krumau, the Southern Bohemia town in which Schiele's mother was born, and to which the artist and his lover Walburga (Wally) Neuzil moved in 1911 in order to escape what they perceived as the claustrophobic atmosphere of Vienna. However, the couple was soon driven out of the town by its residents, who strongly disapproved of their liberal lifestyle, and returned to the environs of Vienna a year later.
