Egon Schiele, Nazi Looted, Watercolor set for Auction

Born Franz Friedrich Grünbaum in April 1880, Fritz Grünbaum was a celebrated cabaret performer, writer, actor and outspoken opponent of Nazism, active in Vienna during the early twentieth century. He studied law before turning to performance and cabaret, and enjoyed a highly successful and varied theatrical career, which included performances at the famous Viennese theatre Simpl, as well as roles in several early films. Alongside his work as a performer, Grünbaum held a life-long passion for art, shaped by his father Wilhelm’s activities as a dealer in the city of Brno (Brünn), and he built up a diverse personal collection which ranged from Russian icons and etchings by Old Masters such as Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt, to Post-Impressionist and Modern drawings and watercolours by August Rodin, Camille Pissarro, Paul Signac, Max Liebermann, Käthe Kollwitz, and others.

However, it was compositions by the Viennese avant-garde of the early twentieth century and, in particular, the works of Egon Schiele that captured Grünbaum’s imagination. Over the course of his life, he purchased over 80 works by the artist, spanning the full range of Schiele’s creative output, from delicate pencil portraits and nude studies executed in gouache or watercolour, to striking, melancholic landscapes and mysterious allegorical subjects in oil.

Shortly after the German annexation of Austria in 1938, Grünbaum was arrested by the Gestapo and subsequently interned at Dachau concentration camp in June 1938, where he perished in January of 1941, after having also spent some time incarcerated in Buchenwald. His art collection, which numbered over 400 works at the time of his arrest, was lost following his wife Lilly’s deportation to the Maly Trostenets concentration camp near Minsk in October 1942, where she was murdered soon after her arrival.

In Vienna in the early decades of the last century, Fritz Grünbaum assembled an art collection that included hundreds of works. The collection was lost when the Nazis annexed Austria in the late 1930s, and Mr. Grünbaum and his wife were sent to concentration camps where they perished.

Co-Head of the 20^th/21^st Century: London Evening Sale, Michelle McMullan, said: “This is a seminal and iconic work by Schiele that shows him at the very height of his powers. In this piece we see Schiele’s acute observational skills and ability to fuse precise draftsmanship with bold, expressionist colour, while intentionally leaving elements unfinished, such as the boy’s left hand, to evoke movement and spontaneity.”

One of the Grünbaum heirs, Timothy Reif, said: “We are grateful that Fritz Grünbaum’s ownership of this superb work of art has been restored to history and that proceeds from this auction will help the Grünbaum Fischer Foundation support underrepresented performing artists. This is another moment to celebrate the memory of our family member who was a brave artist, art collector, and opponent of Fascism.”

The Chairman of Christie’s Americas, Marc Porter, said: “It’s been a privilege for Christie’s Restitution team to help tell the powerful story of Fritz Grünbaum and his collection, and bring another magnificent Schiele work on paper to the market. It is especially gratifying that this sale will raise funds for the Grünbaum Fischer Foundation’s efforts to uplift performing artists, and that the German consignor will also donate proceeds to a charity project for children called „Kinderoase.”

Main Image: Egon Schiele, Knabe in Matrosenanzug (Boy in a Sailor Suit), 1914. Estimate: £1,000,000 – 1,500,000