20. 08. 10. - 12:00

Contested Schiele work on show in Vienna from Monday

One of Egon Schiele’s most famous paintings arrived in Vienna this morning (Fri) after a years-long legal battle.

The famed Austrian artist’s priceless 1912 work "Bildnis Wally" – which portrays his lover Walburga Neuzil – was confiscated in the United States more than 10 years ago as it was to go on display in New York over accusations that Nazi henchmen had taken it from owner Lea Bondi-Jaray during World War Two.

The foundation of art collector Rudolf Leopold, who passed away earlier this year, paid around 19 million Euros in an out of court settlement to the heirs of Bondi-Jaray, with millions more spent on lawyers, to get hold of the painting again.

Leopold acquired the painting in a swap deal from the Viennese Belvedere Museum in 1954. He always stressed that he had been unaware of the work’s controversial history. Leopold’s credibility as one of the country’s most important art traders and supporter of contemporary artists was overshadowed by claims that he used to act recklessly in acquiring the 5,000 paintings worth around eight billion Euros his collection features today.

The Leopold Museum, located in Vienna-Neubau, is expected to see a vast rise in visitor figures when "Bildnis Wally" – transported to Vienna International Airport (VIA) on board an Austrian Airlines (AUA) plane – goes on display this Monday. The museum’s permanent exhibit features some of Schiele’s most important works as well as paintings by Gustav Klimt and other Austrian artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Bank Austria (BA) Kunstforum bosses, meanwhile, are preparing their venue for one of the most important exhibits ever put on display in Vienna, a major Frida Kahlo retrospective that will open on 1 September.

Around 235,000 people attended the exhibition – which features around 70 paintings and 30 drawings by the late Mexican artist – at Berlin’s Martin Gropius Bau, where it was on display earlier this year.