Egon Schiele Appraised at £30 million

In London on June 22nd, Sotheby’s will hold their sale of Impressionist and Modern Art. In the sale is one of the most impressive examples of oil painting by the Austrian artist Egon Schiele. His work, ‘ Häuser mit bunter Wäsche, “Vorstadt” II’ was painted in 1914 and shows a cityscape scene. This will be the first time this work has come to market with a grand provenance after being sold to Rudolf Leopold in 1952, founder of the Leopold Museum in Vienna. The work is being estimated at £22-30 million with high hopes that the price will exceed this estimate.

Helena Newman, Chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art at Sotheby’s Europe said, “We are thrilled to be offering this masterpiece of 20th-century art in our June sale…The painting is unquestionably one of the greatest Schiele oils ever to come to the market but, quite aside from its rarity and quality, it is also distinguished by an illustrious provenance, having never before appeared on the auction market, and having previously resided in just two great collections since the artist painted it – those of Heinrich Böhler and the Leopold Collection.”

Posted by, Lauren Guzniczak.