Schiele sold for €9.2 million
Mar 25, 2013
Legendary Austrian artist Egon Schiele set a personal record at an auction on 5 Feb.at Sotheby’s London, when his work on paper, 1914’s Two Lovers (Self-Portrait with Wally) surpassed pre-auction estimates to sell for €9.2 million. Schiele’s previous record for a piece in this category was $11.353 million (approximately €7.71 million) at Sotheby’s New York for Self-Portait with a Plaid Shirt, in November 2007.
Other Schiele works sold at the February auction included Self-Portrait in Green Shirt with Eyes Closed for €5.9 million and Girl Lying on Back with Crossed Arms and Legs for €1.2 million. All three went to different buyers.
The three pieces were sold by the Leopold Museum. Proceeds financed the restitution fund for Schiele’s painting Houses by the Sea, which was looted by the Nazis in the 1930s. The sale fully paid off the remainder of the painting’s settlement.