This book accompanies a major exhibition devoted to portraits created by Austrian artist Egon Schiele, whose figurative work exhibits intense emotion and technical brilliance. Egon Schiele (1890 - 1918) was one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. A superb draftsman and colorist, he produced images of startling emotional power. Following the lead of his mentor, Gustav Klimt, Schiele created figurative works of uncanny intimacy and brought a new openness to the art of his time. Schiele's premature death at the age of 28 has added a mythic quality to his artistic achievements. Egon Schiele: Portraits focuses on five groupings of the artist's work: family and academy, fellow artists, sitters and patrons, lovers, and allegory.