Reclining Woman (1917) was completed in gouache and black crayon on paper. It has been in the private collection of the same family since the 1930s and is now offered fresh to the market. His works are known for their raw sexuality and contorted poses. This one is relatively restrained. It is estimated at €700,000-1.2m.
Austrian-born Schiele was one of the major figurative painters of the early 20th century. He completed the picture in the year before his early death at the age of 28.
The record for a Schiele work on paper, according to the Art Sales Index, was made for Liebespaar which took a premium inclusive £7.8m at Sotheby’s London in 2013.
Prior to being offered at Dorotheum’s auction week (November 21-24), Reclining Woman and 10 other pictures were on show at the auctioneer’s London showroom in St James’s and will be exhibited again in Vienna the week before the sale.
Schiele’s Head of a woman (1918), another late work, is included in the sale and is estimated at €200,000-300,000.
