Lot 71: BRUNO SCHULZ

BRUNO SCHULZ 1892 - 1942 UNTITLED graphite on paper 5 7/8 by 7 in. 15 by 17.8 cm.

Acquired by the original owner in Poland before 1939

Then by descent to the present owner

Born into a wealthy family in Drohobycz, Galicia, Bruno Schulz studied architecture and briefly lived in Vienna after World War I where he immersed himself in the world of Klimt, Schiele, and Kokoschka. Known as a writer and an artist, Schulz's drawings depict a world of desire, temptation and abasement. His novel, Cinnamon Shops, 1933 (translated in English as The Street of Crocodiles) became known as one of the most important avant-garde literary works to emerge from Poland. While concentrating mainly on his writing through the 1930's, Shultz's graphic work also attracted attention and critical fame. At the outbreak of WWII, Schulz was still living and working in Drohobycz which was at the time occupied by the Soviet Union. Following the German invasion of Poland, he was eventually forced into a ghetto. While initially somewhat protected by a German officer who admired his work, Schulz was shot in the street and killed by another German officer in 1942. In the 1970's, his work was rediscovered through a series of exhibitions in France and Belgium and a major exhibition was held at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem in 1990.