The National Gallery Prague is putting two rare, fragile works by Austrian modernist Egon Schiele on short-term display at the Trade Fair Palace starting September 24, 2026, marking a rare public airing for pieces normally kept in dark storage to prevent light damage. According to National Gallery Prague leadership, the paper works require strict preservation limits, allowing each piece just a two-week window in the fourth-floor exhibition 1796–1918: Long Century Art.
Exhibition Schedule and Fragile Works
The rotating display opens with Seated Woman with Bent Knees (Sedící žena s pokrčenými koleny), a 1917 portrait of the artist’s wife, Edith, which will be shown from September 24 to October 11, 2026. National Gallery Prague curator Petra Kolářová explains that paper works cannot withstand permanent exposure because light causes fading, yellowing, and brittleness. Following the initial run, the piece will be replaced by Schiele’s Self-Portrait (Vlastní podobizna) from October 13 to October 25, 2026, giving visitors another two-week viewing opportunity before both items return to secure storage.
Both drawings arrive alongside a special series of postage stamps launched by the gallery and Czech Post to celebrate the institution’s 230th anniversary. The stamp collection features iconic motifs from the gallery’s permanent holdings, prominently including the portrait of Edith.
Historical Acquisition and Wartime Survival
The National Gallery acquired both drawings in 1930 alongside two other works on paper and an oil painting. The purchase was brokered through the Würthle & Sohn art shop in Vienna to bolster the institution’s modern German-artist section, arriving just as the global economy plunged into the Great Depression and three years before Adolf Hitler took office as German chancellor.
During the Nazi regime, Schiele’s output fell under the official designation of “degenerate art,” a broad cultural purge that also targeted modernists like Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Josef Čapek, and Emil Filla. While German collections suffered widespread seizures and purges, the works housed in Prague survived the era intact.
Prague Connections and Tragic Endings
The 2026 exhibition carries historical resonance because the artist and his wife maintained deep ties to the Czech capital. The couple visited Prague in 1915 on their honeymoon, recording in diary entries that they toured the Modern Gallery and viewed works by Gustav Klimt. Schiele returned in 1918 to organize the Young Vienna: Austrian Graphics exhibition, showcasing over 150 works by more than 20 artists, with 24 pieces contributed by Schiele himself.
Tragedy struck the family later that year. On October 28, 1918—the exact day Czechoslovakia declared independence—Edith Schiele died of the Spanish flu while pregnant. Egon Schiele died three days later from the same illness at age 28.
FAQ
When can I see the Schiele drawings in Prague?
Seated Woman with Bent Knees runs from September 24 to October 11, 2026, and the Self-Portrait runs from October 13 to October 25, 2026, on the fourth floor of the Trade Fair Palace.
Why are the drawings displayed for only two weeks each?
National Gallery Prague curators limit exposure because light causes irreversible fading, yellowing, and structural damage to fragile paper-based artworks.
How did the National Gallery acquire the pieces?
The gallery purchased the works in 1930 from the Würthle & Sohn art gallery in Vienna to expand its modern art collection.
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