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Portrait of Wally screens at the Quad Cinema between May 11st and May 17th.
Portrait of Wally screens at the Projection Booth in Toronto, Canada from May 18th to May 24th.
Portrait of Wally screens at Jewish Film Festival Berlin & Potsdam on June 11th.
Portrait of Wally screens at Gene Siskel Film Center between June 15 and June 21.
Portrait of Wally screens at the Portland Museum of Art for its Movies at the Museum Series, on Friday, June 29th, 6:30 p.m, Saturday, June 30th, 2 p.m and Sunday, July 1st, 2 p.m.
Portrait of Wally screens at Des Monines Art Center on July 15th.
Portrait of Wally screens at Seattle International Film Festival between July 20th and July 27th.
Portrait of Wally screens at Barshop JCC of San Antonio on September 5th.
Portrait of Wally screens at HaMakom Jewish Film Festival on September 9th.
Portrait of Wally screens at Melbourne International Arts Festival between October 11 and October 27.
"Portrait of Wally”, Egon Schiele’s tender picture of his mistress, Walburga (“Wally”) Neuzil, is the pride of the Leopold Museum in Vienna. But for 13 years the painting was locked up in New York, caught in a legal battle between the Austrian museum and the Jewish family from whom the Nazis seized the painting in 1939.
PORTRAIT OF WALLY traces the history of this iconic image – from Schiele’s gesture of affection toward his young lover, to the theft of the painting from Lea Bondi, a Jewish art dealer fleeing Vienna for her life, to the post-war confusion and subterfuge that evoke THE THIRD MAN, to the surprise resurfacing of “Wally” on loan to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan in 1997.
The “Wally” case brought the story of Nazi art loot into the open, eventually forcing museums in Europe and the U.S. to search their own collections for suspect objects. Many museums ended up returning art to Jewish families who had abandoned hope until “Wally” showed that institutions could be held accountable for holding property stolen during the Holocaust. The case was resolved in dramatic fashion in the summer of 2010, but only after the history of Schiele’s extraordinary painting was unearthed to revisit the crimes of the Holocaust and to witness the reluctance of major institutions in Europe and New York to send the “last prisoners of war” back to their families.
Andrew Shea is an associate professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas as Austin. He teaches directing and film production.
Andrew's directing credits include FORFEIT, THE CORNDOG MAN, TAKE MY BREATH AWAY. Andrew co-wrote the television movie, BEAT OF A DIFFERENT DRUM, for ABC, Fox Television Studios and Edmonds Entertainment. Andrew also co-wrote a drama pilot for ABC and Fox Television, The Crew, set in the world of college rowing.
Andrew is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, California Institute of the Arts, Northeastern University School of Law, and Hampshire College. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
“Portrait of Wally”, Egon Schiele’s tender picture of his mistress, Valerie Neuzil, is the pride of the Leopold Museum in Vienna. But until last year the 1912 painting was locked up in New York, caught in a legal battle between the Austria museum and the Jewish family from whom the Nazis seized the painting in 1939.
The documentary PORTRAIT OF WALLY traces the history of this iconic image – from Schiele’s gesture of affection toward his young lover, to the theft of the painting from Lea Bondi, a Jewish art dealer fleeing Vienna for her life, to the post-war confusion and subterfuge that evoke THE THIRD MAN, to the surprise resurfacing of “Wally” on loan to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan in 1997.
In 1997, when the heirs of art dealer Lea Bondi asked MoMA to hold the painting in New York, the Museum and the Leopold Museum dug in their heels and refused. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau issued a subpoena and launched a criminal investigation. A 13-year battle in court followed, tracking the course of a Holocaust property crime and reopening the wounds of one of the century’s worst tragedies – all at a time when the prices of Egon Schiele’s works rose faster than those of any painter on the art market.
Schiele collector Ronald Lauder found himself caught between several loyalties – he was chairman of MoMA and the founder of the Commission for Art Recovery, an organization committed to returning looted art to the Jews who lost it to the Nazis. Lauder sided with the Museum, and against the Jewish family. So did all the museums in New York – even the Jewish Museum.
The “Wally” case brought the story of Nazi art loot into the open, eventually forcing museums in Europe and the U.S. to search their own collections for suspect objects. Many museums ended up returning art to Jewish families who had abandoned hope until “Wally” showed that institutions could be held accountable for holding property stolen during the Holocaust.
Last summer, thirteen years after “Wally” was spotted on loan at MoMA, the Leopold Foundation paid $19 million in compensation to Lea Bondi’s heirs. (“Wally” was valued at $1 million in 1997.) The picture went back to Vienna, but only after its history was unearthed to revisit the crimes of the Holocaust and to witness the reluctance of major institutions in Europe and New York to send the “last prisoners of war” back to their families.
PORTRAIT OF WALLY the documentary takes you on that journey. The 13-year war over “Wally” was more than a dispute over property stolen from Jews during the Holocaust. It was a battle over history and memory. This time, the truth won.
"If you thought a film about a painting could not possibly be as exciting as an action thriller, think again! Portrait of Wally will change your mind, with twists and turns to rival a James Bond caper, and a cast of characters that can put any detective fiction work to shame." - E. Nina Rothe in Huffington Post
"Fascinating and frighteningly revelatory!" - David Noh, Film Journal International
"More like an edge of your seat thriller than a documentary about an early Expressionist portrait." - E. Nina Rothe, Huffington Post
"More like an edge of your seat thriller than a documentary about an early Expressionist portrait." - Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward
"A more vital and immediate experience than even The Rape of Europa." - Trust Movies
"Remarkable… Riveting... Part whodunit complete with fascinating sleuthing, and part morality tale… An astonishing and informative film." - The Jewish Daily Forward feature story by Tom Freudenheim.
Egon Schiele - Wikipedia Page
Portrait of Wally in The Huffington Post
Association of Art Museum Directors Position Paper on Restitution of Nazi-Looted Works
The New York Times, "Museums Call for System To Address Nazi Booty," February 5, 1998
The New Yorker, "A Critic at Large; Tunnel Vision," November 10, 1997
