The Portrait of Wally

The Portrait of Wally

By Ben Hall

     Background

Painted in 1912 by Austrian painter Egon Schiele, The Portrait of Wally perfectly exemplifies the controversial struggles of nations attempting to regain a piece of their heritage. Initially it was sold pre-World War II to art collector Lea Bondi, who did not know at the time that this piece of artwork would set off a chain of events as controversial as it was. The portrait was passed around several times after leaving Bondi's hands and ultimately ended up in the Leopold Meusum of modern art in Austria.

Picture outside of the Leopold

Controversy

The Leopold then, in 1997, had loaned its Schiele collection to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Soon after being alerted by an art dealer, a reporter for The New York Times reported the painting as being stolen Nazi loot. After the article was published, the heirs of Bondi demanded that the painting would not return to the Leopold and be returned to the Bondi family.

 Resolution

A little over ten years later, the Bondis and the Leopold had reached an agreement; the Leopold would give the Bondi family a $19 million dollar settlement in July of 2010 for their “stolen nazi loot”.

The entire story behind the portrait has even inspired a documentary which tells the entire struggle. Link to the Trailer:

Works Cited:

"The Art Newspaper." What Makes the Portrait of Wally Case so Significant? -. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/What-makes-the-Portrait-of-Wally-case-so-significant/26309>.

"Telling the Story of Portrait of Wally." Telling the Story of Portrait of Wally. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://artbusinessnews.com/2012/05/portrait-of-wally-egon-schiele-andrew-shea/>.