Albin Egger-Lienz (Stribach near Lienz 1868–1926 St. Justina near Bolzano) Kopf des zweiten Bauern aus dem Gemälde „Totentanz 1809“ / Head of the second farmer from the painting “Totentanz 1809”, probably around 1920 (see Kirschl M518 amongst others), signed Egger-Lienz, oil on cardboard, 29.5 x 24.8 cm, framed Provenance: Family property, Bolzano/Vienna the work was acquired directly from the artist according to oral transmission Egger-Lienz in a letter to Dr. Heinrich Hammer dated 6.7.1923 …and there is one more point I should like to clarify. You wrote, Doctor, that the frequent occurrence of repetitions of earlier pictures made some people skeptical. Perhaps I did not explain this well enough in the outline of my life – the high prices and the weak buying power at the time. Were I always to have to get by with so-called new pictures, much weaker works of mine, sort of ‘leftovers’, would be in circulation and my good reputation would have tremendously suffered. For who would be able to create something of value under such conditions? I would rather repeat a good painting, all the while infusing artistic interest (which I am actually able to do), than make a new weak one, which is of no artistic interest to me. So I have the satisfaction of knowing that there are only works of art in circulation which do not discredit my name … Wilfried Kirschl. Albin Egger-Lienz, vol. I, Christian Brandstätter Verlagsge., 1996