Edith with Striped Dress, Sitting

Edith Harms, her sister, Adele, and their parents lived across the street from Schiele’s studio at the Hietzinger Hauptstrasse. Harms and Schiele developed their romance over the course of 1914, despite the fact that Schiele was still involved with his model, Wally Neuzil. It goes without saying that Edith emphatically advocated for an end to Egon’s relationship with Wally, which of course was not an easy step for Schiele to take. Egon suggested to Wally that they continue vacationing together at least once a year, but this was unacceptable to Wally. The wedding between Egon and Edith took place in June 1915. Four days later, Schiele was called to perform his military service in Prague. Edith was a loyal companion and often posed as his model. Six months pregnant, she passed away as a victim of the Spanish flu on October 28, 1918. Having contracted the same disease, Schiele followed her three days later.