In the 1930’s the Nazis pillaged paintings by Egon Schiele from Jewish collector, Lea Bondi Jaray. Years later some of the work ended up in Vienna’s Leopold Museum. Seeking closure to a protracted legal battle, the institution will deaccession a highly valued Schiele next month to pay off a $19m settlement to the heirs of Jaray.
The cityscape with the lengthy title, “Houses with Colorful Laundry, ‘Suburb’ II,” has a low estimate of $36m by Sotheby’s. Schiele was only 28 when he died from the Spanish Flu. His pregnant wife died three days earlier during the same epidemic. There is little of Schiele’s best work still in private hands.
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