504 - Egon Schiele (1890 Tulln/Danube – Vienna 1918)

Egon Schiele (1890 Tulln/Danube – Vienna 1918) Woman with Hat and Veil Black chalk on chamois-colored vellum. 1918. Approx. 47.5 x 30 cm. Signed and dated lower right. On the reverse, a fragment of an Austrian customs stamp. Kallir D 2221. • Drawing from the year of Egon Schiele’s death • Focus on the subject’s face, which he studied meticulously • Likely a depiction of a woman from his close personal circle Egon Schiele drew “Woman with Hat and Veil” in 1918. He executed the work in black chalk on a sheet of paper on which we see a seated woman. While her dress cannot be discerned in detail—except for the neckline and a hint of a collar—and her hands disappear into an indefinable piece of fur—a hat? a muff?—the artist has particularly emphasized her face and her accessories. The woman wears a tall hat with a feather, along with a veil. She looks out of the picture from the side. It is unclear who the subject is. Initially, it was assumed that Schiele’s secretary “Tontschi” was depicted. Later, some believed they recognized Schiele’s wife Edith in the portrait. In her catalog raisonné, Schiele expert Jane Kallir now assumes that the subject is likely Jella Pollak, née Reif. She was an art student who was acquainted with the Schieles. Evidence of this includes exchanged greeting cards—such as those sent for New Year’s—as well as notices of visits. What is particularly remarkable about this drawing is that Schiele created it in 1918, the year of his death. In his final years, Schiele developed a style that remains unmistakable to this day, featuring gaunt figures in contorted poses and elongated, knotted limbs. By comparison, the drawing offered here is classical in style. Typical of Schiele is his focus on the essential. The dress is shown only as a simplified outline; the focus of the drawing is on the face, to make it unmistakable—an irony of the times, then, that we can no longer identify it with certainty today. Bibliography: Künstler, Gustav, Egon Schiele as a Graphic Artist, Vienna 1946, p. 88, b/w ill. p. 89; Malafarina, Gianfranco, *L’Opera di Egon Schiele*, Milan 1982, no. D107; Exhibition: Egon Schiele: Memorial Exhibition, Albertina Graphic Collection, Vienna 1948, cat. no. 245; Egon Schiele, Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz/Wolfgang-Gurlitt-Museum, Linz 1949, cat. no. 192; Egon Schiele (1890–1918): Watercolors and Drawings, Galerie St. Etienne, New York 1968, cat. no. 23; 40th Venice Biennale: Visual Arts, Giardini di Castello, Venice 1982, cat. no. 30; Egon Schiele: From Student to Master, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, and other locations, 1984–1988, cat. no. 97; Egon Schiele, Pinacoteca Capitolina, Rome/Museo d’Arte Moderna Ca’Pesaro, Venice 1984, cat. no. 176; Egon Schiele (exhibited with Gustav Klimt), Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny 1986/87, Cat. No. 92; Europalia 87 Austria: Egon Schiele, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi 1987, cat. no. 110; Gustav Klimt: 125 Drawings, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn 1989, unlisted in the catalog; Egon Schiele: Early Maturity, Eternal Childhood, Vienna City History Museum, 1990, cat. no. 10.45, b/w ill., p. 89; Egon Schiele: 100 Drawings and Watercolors, Upper Austrian State Museum, Linz, et al., 1990–1996, cat. no. 98, partially exhibited, not illustrated in the catalog; Egon Schiele: Works on Paper, Musée-Galerie de la Seita, Paris 1992/93, not included in the catalog; Egon Schiele: Paintings, Drawings, and Watercolors, Mainau Castle, Mainau Flower Island, 1994, cat. no. 98; Egon Schiele: Drawings and Watercolors, The Serge Sabarsky Foundation, New York, 1996; Egon Schiele, International Cultural Center, Kraków 1996/97, cat. no. 98; Egon Schiele: Drawings and Watercolors, Cankarjev Dom, Fine Art Gallery CD, Ljubljana 1997, cat. no. 98; Homage to Serge Sabarsky. Klimt – Kokoschka – Schiele. Watercolors and Drawings, Jahrhunderthalle Hoechst, Frankfurt 1997, cat. no. 89; Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen 2002; Egon Schiele. The Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarsky Collections, Neue Galerie, New York 2005/06, cat. no. D154, color ill. p. 315; Man Museo Provincia Di Nuoro, Nuoro 2007/08; Neue Galerie Museum, New York 2008–2011; From Klimt to Klee – Masterworks from the Serge Sabarsky Collection, Neue Galerie Museum, New York 2009/10, cat. no. 47, b/w ill., p. 49; Galerie St. Etienne, New York 2011/12; Egon Schiele’s Women, Galerie St. Etienne, New York 2012; The Woman Question: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka, Galerie St. Etienne, New York 2017. Provenance: Neue Galerie, Vienna, 1948; Dr. Viktoria (Vita) Maria Künstler, Vienna; Galerie St. Etienne, New York; Serge Sabarsky Collection/Estate, New York, acquired from the aforementioned in 1980/81; Vally Sabarsky Collection/Foundation, New York. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).