The Red Egg by Oskar Kokoschka
Portrait of Bessie Bruce by Oskar Kokoschka
Hans Tietze and Erica Tietze-Conrat by Oskar Kokoschka
Dresden Neustadt I by Oskar Kokoschka
Amsterdam – Kloveniersburgwal II by Oskar Kokoschka
Lyon by Oskar Kokoschka
Charles Bridge in Prague by Oskar Kokoschka
Annexation – Alice in Wonderland by Oskar Kokoschka
Polperro II by Oskar Kokoschka
Loreley by Oskar Kokoschka
The Elbe Near Dresden by Oskar Kokoschka
Double portrait Oskar Kokoschka and Alma Mahler by Oskar Kokoschka

Where to See Oskar Kokoschka

25 museums worldwide

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About Oskar Kokoschka

Austrian · 1886–1980 · Expressionism

proposing to Alma Mahler within a day, surviving a bullet to the head and a bayonet to the chest, and commissioning a life-size doll of his lost lover

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Oskar Kokoschka's works are held in 25 museums worldwide, including National Gallery of Art, Belvedere, and Kunsthaus Zürich.

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🇦🇹 Austria

4 museums

🇧🇪 Belgium

1 museum

🇨🇿 Czech Republic

1 museum

🇩🇪 Germany

8 museums

🇳🇱 Netherlands

1 museum

🇨🇭 Switzerland

1 museum

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

3 museums

🇺🇸 United States

6 museums

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where can I see Oskar Kokoschka's work?
    Oskar Kokoschka (1886[7]-1980[7]) was an Austrian[7] artist who worked across Europe. His work can be found in numerous collections. In 1937[7], the Nazis condemned Kokoschka's art as 'degenerate' and removed it from public display in Germany. He fled to England in 1938, becoming a British national in 1947. He spent his final years in Switzerland. Major exhibitions of Kokoschka's work have been held at the Kunsthaus Zurich (1927), the Arts Club of Chicago (1941), and the Tate Gallery in London (1962). A large show of 682 works was mounted at the Künstlerhaus in Vienna in 1958. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York has also held Kokoschka exhibitions. His 1915 painting *Knight Errant* is in the Guggenheim collection. The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna holds his 1963 painting *Herodotus*.
  • Where did Oskar Kokoschka live?
    Oskar Kokoschka lived in Vienna during his youth. Later, after the Munich Agreement, he fled Czechoslovakia for London and became a British citizen in 1947[7].
  • Where is Oskar Kokoschka from?
    Oskar Kokoschka was Austria, born in 1886[7] and died in 1980[7].
  • What should I know about Oskar Kokoschka's prints?
    Oskar Kokoschka (1886[7]-1980[7]) was an Austrian[7] artist known as a painter, printmaker, and dramatist. He created over 560 prints, around a third of which were produced in the 1910s and 1920s. Kokoschka's early work was influenced by the Wiener Werkstätte; they published his illustrated fairy tale *Die träumenden Knaben* (The Dreaming Boys) in 1908[7]. However, he turned away from decorative styles, moving towards a more expressive approach, particularly in his portraits and figurative works. From 1910, Kokoschka was in contact with Expressionist circles in Berlin, and Herwarth Walden reproduced his drawings and texts in the journal *Der Sturm*. His prints are mostly lithographic or photolithographic portraits and book illustrations. Like his drawings, they often display a nervous, electrically charged style. Paul Cassirer supported Kokoschka from 1916 to 1931, and Cassirer's gallery published many of his prints.
  • Why are Oskar Kokoschka's works important today?
    Oskar Kokoschka (1886[7]-1980[7]) was an Austrian[7] artist who made significant contributions to Expressionism[7]. His works are valued for their psychological intensity and individualistic style. Initially influenced by the decorative Jugendstil and Gustav Klimt, Kokoschka shifted toward a more expressive style after encountering the work of Vincent van Gogh. He developed a gestural painting technique, particularly evident in his "Black Portraits", which aimed to capture the inner states of his subjects. These portraits often depicted intellectuals, artists, and patrons, revealing their neuroses and vulnerabilities. Kokoschka's early career was marked by his association with the Wiener Werkstätte, where he produced lithographs and posters. He later connected with Expressionist circles in Berlin and contributed to Herwarth Walden's journal *Der Sturm*. Labelled a "degenerate" artist by the Nazis, Kokoschka fled Austria and lived in Prague and London before settling in Switzerland. His work remains important for its exploration of psychological themes and its departure from traditional portraiture. Kokoschka sought to capture the essence of his sitters through agitated lines, sensitive brushwork, and distortions of form. He aimed to expose mental suffering and project a sense of unease, making his portraits powerful and unsettling.
  • What techniques or materials did Oskar Kokoschka use?
    Oskar Kokoschka experimented with various media throughout his career. Early on, around 1906[7], he produced a small number of works in woodcut, a medium favoured by one of his teachers. He also made drawings in pen and ink, sometimes on postcards. As a student in Vienna, Kokoschka painted fans and postcards. One early issue of *Kneipzeitung* used paper transfers duplicated from alcohol stencils, with illustrators drawing directly on the stencils. Later, Kokoschka became known for oil paintings, especially portraits. His portraits often feature agitated brushwork and strong colours to convey emotion. One self-portrait, *Portrait of a ‘Degenerate Artist’* (1937), uses many colour tones to outline the artist's face, conveying anxiety and anger. Some critics considered him an Impressionist due to his style with oil paint. In later life, Kokoschka also completed many drawings and graphic works.
  • Who did Oskar Kokoschka influence?
    Oskar Kokoschka's early work showed the influence of Gustav Klimt; Kokoschka had been Klimt's student in Vienna during the early 1900s. He was also affected by seeing the portraits of Vincent van Gogh. Kokoschka then developed his own style of psychological portraiture. His portraits aimed to capture his sitters in motion, often gesticulating or lost in thought. He sought to expose mental suffering, and his subjects included Austrian[7] writers and artists. George Grosz commented in 1954[7] that Kokoschka had become the semi-official painter of the Federal Republic, painting President Theodor Heuss and displaying several oil paintings in Haus der Kunst. Kokoschka aimed to paint important personalities; he hoped to paint Winston Churchill, Gandhi, and the Pope. His later works often explored mythological themes, reflecting his enthusiasm for Greece and classical antiquity. His last self-portrait, Time, Gentlemen Please, anticipates the painting of the Neue Wilden of the 1980s.
  • Who influenced Oskar Kokoschka?
    Oskar Kokoschka's early artistic development saw a number of influences. Initially, he studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule, where he was taught by Carl Otto Czeschka and influenced by the work of Czeschka's students. However, during his first semester with Czeschka, Kokoschka was more heavily influenced by Kenner. Kokoschka was also drawn to the decorative arts of the Jugendstil movement, and particularly the work of Gustav Klimt. Like Klimt, Kokoschka drew inspiration from the magazine *Jugend*. A significant moment came in 1906[7] when Kokoschka encountered the work of Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh's portraits, especially the self-portraits, had a traumatic effect on the young Kokoschka. This led to Kokoschka's series of "Black Portraits", psychological studies of intellectuals, artists, and patrons. These portraits, such as the *Portrait of Adolf Loos* (1909), displayed a searching intensity, surpassing previous attempts at psychological portraiture.

Sources

Where to See guide aggregates verified holdings of Oskar Kokoschka's works across the following collections.

  1. [1] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum Courtauld Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
  4. [4] museum Hungarian National Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
  5. [5] museum Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Used for: museum holdings.
  6. [6] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
  7. [7] wikipedia Wikipedia: Oskar Kokoschka Used for: biography.
  8. [8] book Starr Figura, German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse Used for: biography, museum holdings, stylistic analysis.
  9. [9] book guggenheim-guhe00solo Used for: biography, museum holdings, stylistic analysis.
  10. [10] book Husslein-Arco, Agnes, editor; Koja, Stephan, editor; Law, Rebecca (Translator), translator; McInnes, Robert (Translator), translator; Somers, Nick, translator; Monet, Claude, 1840-1926. Paintings. Selections; Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, h Used for: biography, museum holdings.
  11. [11] book Penelope J.E. Davies, Walter B. Denny, Frima Fox Hofrichter, Joseph Jacobs, Ann S. Roberts, David L. Simon, Janson's History of Art_ The Western Tradition (8th Edition) Used for: stylistic analysis.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-30. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

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