Egon Schiele:
Friederike Beer in Striped Dress with Raised Arms (1914, Friederike Beer in gestreiftem Kleid mit erhobenen Armen)
Pencil and watercolour on yellowish Simili-Japan
48,3 x 2,2 cm
Auctioned at Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen, Bern, in 2024 for 1.760.000 Euro
(Kallir d1597)

Auction Note (translated from German):
Friederike “Fritzi” Beer, daughter of the owners of the popular and legendary Viennese Kaiserbar, was a radiant presence in Vienna’s cultural scene. After completing her education, Fritzi pursued acting and became a fashion model for the Wiener Werkstätte. She holds the unique distinction of being the only person portrayed by both Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.

The present drawing served as a preparatory study for Schiele’s oil painting, also created in 1914. Beer commissioned the work herself. The distinctive pose was achieved by Beer lying on her stomach and clutching a pillow in front of the artist. The absence of props resulted in a loss of spatial context, causing the figure to appear as if floating with raised arms—a visual effect Schiele further emphasized in the final painting.

Friederike Beer is depicted wearing a dress from the Wiener Werkstätte, with its characteristic pattern subtly suggested by Schiele. As in many of his drawings, he juxtaposes deliberately colored sections with untouched areas, creating a striking contrast.

In 1920, Beer married Italian captain Emanuele Monti and adopted the name Monti-Beer. She emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s, where she ran the “Artists’ Gallery” in New York under the name Federica Beer-Monti, actively promoting American artists. This drawing is considered a significant work in Schiele’s oeuvre, personally brought to the U.S. by the sitter and later sold.