Egon Schiele

Estate of the artist
Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York
Saul P. Steinberg, New York
Sale: Christie's, New York, 19th May 1981, lot 118
Sale: Christie's, New York, 15th November 1988, lot 126
Dover Street Gallery, London
Private Collection, New York
Sale: Christie's, London, 3rd December 1996, lot 224
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Paris, Galerie Octave Negru, Egon Schiele: dessins et aquarelles, 1976, no. 20, illustrated in the catalogue

Jane Kallir, Egon Schiele: The Complete Works, London, 1998, no. 1328, illustrated p. 503

Executed on white wove paper, not laid down, hinged to the mount on the reverse of the top edge, floating in the mount. There are artist's pinholes in the top two corners and some tiny spots of natural imperfections to the paper. This work is in very good original condition. Colours: The pencil tone is a stronger grey in the original, and not as brown as it appears in the printed catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Explicit displays of sexuality often defined Schiele's most compelling works. In 1912, the year before the present work was executed, Schiele was arrested and a number of his drawings, deemed pornographic, were seized. Schiele was a mere 23 years old at the time he drew this composition, when expressions of female sexuality were clearly an overwhelming preoccupation. But even in this most explicit of auto-erotic representations, Schiele eclipses the shock-value of his subject with his brilliance as a draughtsman, capturing the intricacy and proportional balance of the recumbent and foreshortened female torso.

This impressive drawing once belonged to Serge Sabarsky (1912-1996), whose celebrated collection now comprises much of the Neue Galerie in New York. As one of the world's leading authorities on German and Austrian Expressionist art, Sabarsky amassed a formidable collection of works by Beckmann, Klimt, Kokoschka and Schiele after moving from his native Vienna to New York in 1939. In 1968, Sabarsky opened a gallery on Madison Avenue, thereby establishing himself as one of the leading dealers of Expressionist art in the United States. Sabarsky did not live to see the opening of the Neue Galerie, the museum that he co-founded with Ronald Lauder, but his legacy as the preeminent collector of Schiele's art is exemplified by this important cultural institution.