ID 1108851
Lot 52 | Egon Schiele (1890-1918)
Estimate value
£ 5 000 – 8 000
Autograph letter signed ('Egon Schiele') to Dr Oskar Reichel ('Lieber Dr O.R.'), Krumau, n.d. [1911]
In German. Two pages, 150 x 111mm, bifolium. Provenance: Stargardt, 8 & 9 June 1982, lot 579.
'I really have nothing. Not even a bed, no other furniture, no easel, no mirror, no armchair, no brushes, few colours and nothing of a lot else'. Pleading poverty, Schiele begs a collector to buy five of his drawings and send him the money: he has got by on 15 Kroner since his arrival in Krumau, and has only 20 hellers (pennies) left. He begs Reichel therefore to buy five of his drawings of the 30 or so he has left with [Josef] Hoffmann at the Wiener Werkstätte, promising that he can exchange them for new ones in the autumn; Reichel is to 'send the money to me, don't leave it in the W.W., if only because the W.W. sells a sheet for 30 K'. He encourages Reichel to view 'the reproductions based on Klimts, which are the best I've ever seen', and also 'the women's hats, they are worth seeing', concluding with urgency: 'I'm sure you'll send me the money straight away, I really have nothing. Not even a bed, no other furniture, no easel, no mirror, no armchair, no brushes, few colours and nothing of a lot else'.
Seit ich hier bin, bin ich mit 15 K[ronen] ausgekommen meine Bitte wäre daß Sie sich einige Zeichnungen in der Wiener Werkstätte … aussuchen sollen; ich habe noch 20 Heller, ich bitte Sie nehmen Sie 5 Stück, Sie können dieselben im Herbst für neue Blätter umtauschen … und schicken Sie mir das Geld, nicht in der W.W. lassen, schon deshalb weil die W.W. ein Blatt für 30 K verkauft …
Lassen Sie sich … die Reproduktionen nach Klimten zeigen die die besten sind die ich je gesehen habe … Und die Damenhüte lassen Sie sich zeigen die sind sehenswert … Ich glaube sicher daran, daß Sie mir gleich das Geld senden, ich hab wirklich nichts. Auch kein Bett, auch keine sonstigen Möbel, auch keine Staffelei, keinen Spiegel, keinen Sessel, keine Pinsel, wenig Farben und vieles nicht.
Schiele had moved to the small Bohemian town of Krumau (now Český Krumlov) with his lover and muse Wally Neuzil: although Krumau was his mother's birthplace, his family connections did not prevent them being driven out of town in short order, amidst outrage over his lifestyle and use of local girls as models.
Artist: | Egon Schiele (1890 - 1918) |
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Place of origin: | Austria |
Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts |
Artist: | Egon Schiele (1890 - 1918) |
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Place of origin: | Austria |
Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |||||
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Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |||||
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |||||
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
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