Kokoschka (Art Monographs) - Softcover

The life of Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), was perhaps one of the most extraordinary in the history of 20th-century art. Having been seriously wounded fighting for the Emperor Franz Josef in the First World War, he was forced to seek refuge from the Nazis in England shortly before the Second. As the author writes, "the circumstances of Kokoschka's long, restless and varied life are mirrored to an unusual degree in his art. His pictures speak passionately of the people and places he knew and loved, but also of the artist himself and the ideals which moved him and for which he never ceased to campaign." In this illustrated study, Calvocoressi concentrates on Kokoschka's development as a painter, from the early "psychological" portraits, through the landscapes of the 1920s and political pictures produced during the Second World War, to the final paintings on themes drawn from mythology, religion and literature. Richard Calvocoressi was for eight years a curator at the Tate Gallery, where he organized the centenary exhibition of Kokoschka's work. He is now keeper of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.