Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Die Freunde: Secession 49. Ausstellung (Friends: Poster for the 49th Exhibition of the Secession) Lithograph printed in colours, 1918, on thin, smooth wove paper, printed by Albert Berger Press, Vienna, with a stamp on the reverse 1 Mrz 1918 (?) Subject: 63.7 x 48 cm Provenance: P. & D. Colnaghi, London, April 1976 Literature: Kallir 15,6; Egon Schiele, The Complete Works Online G15 For this poster Egon Schiele returned to sketches and a painting that he had created in 1917. He placed himself reading at the head of an L-shaped table. Schiele is surrounded by his artist friends, emphasising the solidarity of the group. In earlier versions, the empty chair opposite Schiele was occupied by his mentor and founder of the Vienna Secession, the painter Gustav Klimt. However, Klimt had died just before the exhibition and the chair remained empty. Kallir notes that the usual press run for such a poster was 300-400, though probably less were printed on account of the war and suggests that a large majority were destroyed