Helga Schweininger signed original oil painting, titled “Feeling Lost” per the artist’s inscription on the verso. Canvas measures 30″ x 40″. An atmospheric, moody composition: a fog-shrouded purple-gray landscape of bare winter trees, with a ghostly white cherub-like figure perched in a tree and a nude figure standing in a dark alcove atop a staircase. A serpentine copper-orange form winds along the bottom of the scene. A muted, introspective palette of soft purples and grays sets this apart from the artist’s more saturated jewel-toned work. Signed “Helga” in paint, lower right. The artist, Helga Schweininger, was born and raised in the countryside near Graz, Austria, where she graduated from the Handelsakademie business college. She relocated to Southern California in 1962 following her marriage to her husband Ferdinand, and the couple settled in Costa Mesa, CA, where she has lived since. In addition to painting, she authored two published books: “Betrayal Of Lieschen’s Heart” (2004) and “Beyond Betrayal – Beyond Humanity: A Fictionalized Biography” (2012). This piece stands out for its quiet, dreamlike mood and unusual muted palette, a striking large-scale addition to any folk/outsider art collection. CONDITION: Front is clean and stable with no visible tears or losses. Verso shows scattered brownish staining (see photos) – cosmetic to the back of the canvas only; does not appear to have migrated to the painted surface. DIMENSIONS: 30″ x 40″ (unframed canvas). MEDIUM: Oil on canvas. SIGNATURE: “Helga” lower right, in paint. PROVENANCE: Costa Mesa, CA estate collection.




