Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele (Austrian, June 12, 1890–October 31, 1918) was a major figure of Austrian Expressionism.
Although his career was short, Schiele’s prolific work paved the way for Modernism. He is most known for
Figurative works, self-portraits, and portraits that express a deeply personal and radical aesthetic.

Schiele began his artistic career at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste (Vienna Academy of Fine Art) in 1906,
but he left the academy in 1909 to form Neukunstgruppe, the New Art Group, with fellow classmates who
shared his contempt for the academy’s curriculum. It was during this time that he became acquainted
with Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862–1918), a future mentor and supporter of Schiele; Klimt helped Schiele
participate in the Vienna Kunstschau of 1909. This international exhibition, along with Schiele’s subsequent
showings, put the artist in contact with prominent dealers, critics, and patrons who would support his
developing career. During this time, Schiele’s subjects began to become more expressive and exaggerated. In
addition, his self-portraits and portraits became tinged with psychological and sexual subtext.

Schiele’s subjects, frequently outlined and then filled in with ink or color, were dynamic and tormented, often
blatantly grotesque and erotic. In 1911, the artist had his first solo show at Galerie Miethke in Vienna, Austria,
and later exhibited at Galerie Hans Goltz in Munich, Germany. Schiele went on to set up a studio in Vienna in
1912. He was very productive during this period, exhibiting both nationally and internationally. One of his most
significant exhibitions occurred in 1914 at the Galerie Guido Arnot in Vienna. After only a decade on the scene,
Schiele succumbed to the Spanish flu, but not before the 1918 Viennese Secession, which prominently
displayed over 50 works of art and brought him much success and acclaim. In 2011, Schiele’s 1914
painting Häuser mit bunter Wäsche (Vorstadt II) brought in US$40 million at Sotheby’s, the largest sum paid for
a work of art by the Austrian artist. Today the largest collections of his work can be seen at the Egon Schiele-
Musuem in Tulln, the Leopold Museum in Vienna, and the Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna.

Schiele died at the age of 28 on October 31, 1918.

Timeline

1890

Born in Tulln, Austria

1905

Attends the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria

1909

Co-founder of the Neukunstgruppe, Vienna, Austria

1912

Jailed on immorality charges, Neulengbach & St. Pölten, Austria

 1915

Married in Vienna and started his military service

1918

Died three days after his pregnant wife deceased suffering from spanish flu on October 31st in
Vienna, Austria

Exhibitions

2011–2012

Das unrettbare Ich, Aquarelle und Zeichnungen aus der Albertina, Kunstbau der Städtischen Galerie
im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany

2010

Egon Schiele as Printmaker, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY (solo)

Treasures from Budapest: European Masterpieces from Leonardo to Schiele, Royal Academy of Arts,
London, UK

2007

Fondation Beyeler: EROS Rodin und Picasso, BA-CA Kunstforum Wien, Vienna
Body Politics: Figurative Prints and Drawings from Schiele to De Kooning, Walker Art Center,
Minneapolis, MN
EROS in der Kunst der Moderne, Foundation Beyeler, Riehen, Switzerland
Schiele, Klimt, Kokoschka e gli amici viennesi, Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e
Rovereto, Italy

2006

Die Tafelrunde: Egon Schiele und sein Kreis, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna
Degas to Picasso: Modern Masters, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
...aus der Sammlung: Selbstbildnisse, Landesgalerie am Oberösterreichischen Landesmuseum, Linz,
Austria
Sammlung-Projekt Sammlung-Projekt Museum, Kunsthaus Zug, Zug, Switzerland
Österreich: 1900-2000, Sammlung Essl-Kunsthaus, Klosterneuburg, Austria

2005

Egon Schiele, Albertina, Vienna; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Coming of Age: Egon Schiele and the Modernist Culture of Youth, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY
Klimt, Schiele, Moser, Kokoschka: Vienna 1900, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, France
Egon Schiele: En cuerpo y alma, Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, Cuenca; Museu d’Art Espanyol
Contemporani, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Die Nackte Wahrheit: Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka und andere Skandale, Leopold Museum, Vienna;
Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

2004
Bilder von Kindern. Bildern für Kinder and Schiele: Landschaften, Leopold Museum, Vienna
Support: Die Neue Galerie als Sammlung, 1950-Heute, Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum
Joanneum, Graz, Austria
Klimt Schiele Klee: Wotruba and the avant-garde, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, The
Netherlands

20
03

Gustav Klimt bis Paul Klee: Wotruba und die Moderne, Albertina, Vienna, Austria
Avantgarde und Tradition, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Linz, Austria
Egon Schiele, Museo dArte Moderna, Lugano, Switzerland

2002

Meisterwerke Der Graphischen Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany

Whisper: Sammelausstellung zum elfjährigen Jubiläum, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Berlin, Germany
V.I.P., Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA

2001

Treasure Trove: Gems from the Collection, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Den Haag, The
Netherlands
The Global Guggenheim: Selections from the Extended Collection, Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum, New York, NY
La Vérité Nue, Musée Maillol, Fondation Dina Vierny, Paris, France

1999

Zeitschnitt 1900-2000, 100 Jahre, 100 Werke, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz, Linz, Austria
De Durero a Rauschenberg: La quintaesencia del dibujo, Museo Guggenheim de Arte Moderno y
Contemporáneo, Bilbao, Spain

1997

Works from the Leopold Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

1994

Egon Schiele, National Gallery of Art and other venues, Washington, DC

1990

Egon Schiele, Galerie St. Etienne New York, NY

1986

Otto Kallir-Nirenstein: Ein Wegbereiter Österreichischer Kunst, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien
Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Vienna 1900, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Vienne 1880-1938, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Viennese Design & the Wiener Werkstätte, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

1985
Traum und Wirklichkeit, Künstlerhaus Vienna, Vienna, Austria

1984

Le Arti a Vienna, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy

Egon Schiele, vom Schüler zum Meister: Zeichnungen und Aquarelle 1906-1918, Akademie der
bildenden Künste Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Arnold Schoenberg's Vienna, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

1981

Austria's Expressionism, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

1979

Egon Schiele, The Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan

1977

Master Draughtsman: Egon Schiele, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

1975

Egon Schiele: Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany

1969

Creative Austria-20th century, Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, PA

1965

Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Egon Schiele, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

1964

Austrian Expressionists, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

Viennese Expressionism 1910-1924, Pasadena Art Museum and other venues, Pasadena, CA

Egon Schiele (U.S. Tour), Institute of Contemporary Art and other venues, Boston, MA

Egon Schiele: Watercolors & Drawings, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY

Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka, Neue Galerie, Vienna, Austria

Egon Schiele: Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, Galerie St. Etienne, New York, NY
Exposition d'Art Autrichien, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France

Gedächtnisausstellung Egon Schiele, Neue Galerie & Hagenbund, Vienna, Austria

Egon Schiele, Neue Galerie, Vienna, Austria

Egon Schiele, Vienna Secession, Vienna, Austria

Egon Schiele: Kollektiv-Ausstellung, Galerie Goltz, Munich, Germany

Sonderbund Exhibition, Cologne, Germany

Egon Schiele, Salon Miethke, Vienna, Austria

Internationale Kunstschau, Vienna, Austria

Neukunstgruppe, Kunstsalon Pisko, Vienna, Austria

Erste Kunstausstellung, Stift Klosterneuburg Klosterneuburg, Austria