Letter from Egon Schiele to Josef Strzygowski, c. 6th Nov. 1910

Transcription:

DEAR PRIVY COUNSELOR J. CZ. [Josef Strzygowski]

SINCE FEBRUARY, I AM NO LONGER WITH THE ‘NEW ART GROUP’. I WROTE TO YOU ONCE ASKING IF YOU WOULD ALLOW ME TO PAINT YOU. – YET I NEVER RECEIVED A RESPONSE. – AND I IMMEDIATELY KNEW WHY. I DID NOT ASK TO PAINT YOU BECAUSE YOU WROTE ABOUT THE NEW ART FOXES ON 1 DEC. 1909, BUT SIMPLY BECAUSE I HAVE SUCH FOND MEMORIES OF THE DAY I PAID YOU A VISIT. – THIS IS WHY I HAD THE DESIRE TO PAINT YOU, AND ASKED YOU TO SIT FOR ME, WHICH BY NO MEANS SHOULD AND CAN SOUND LIKE SELF-INTEREST ON MY PART. – EVEN NOW. IF ON ONE OF THE NEXT FEW DAYS YOU CAN SPARE THE TIME, THEN PLEASE VISIT ME IN MY STUDIO TO SEE MY LATEST WORKS, WHICH IN SPRING I WILL BE EXHIBITING ALONE AT MIETHKE’S. INCLUDING AN ‘OTTO WAGNER PORTRAIT’ AN ‘ARTHUR RÖSSLER PORTRAIT’ AND A G. [Gustav] KLIMT PORTRAIT I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON. –

I WENT THROUGH KLIMT UNTIL MARCH. TODAY I BELIEVE I AM QUITE DIFFERENT.
BEST

Egon Schiele

Vienna’s 12th district, Grünbergstraße 31.
next to the ‘Tivoli’