Home > Oskar Kokoschka

Kokoschka's early career was marked by intense portraits of Viennese celebrities. He served in the Austrian army in World War I and was wounded; at the hospital, the doctors decided that he was mentally unstable as well as physically wounded. Nevertheless, he continued to develop his career as an artist, travelling across Europe and painting the landcapes he encountered. He had a passionate, often stormy affair with Alma Mahler, shortly after the death of her infant daughter with Walter Gropius. After several years together, Mahler rejected him, explaining that she was afraid of being too overcome with passion. He continued to love her his entire life, and one of his greatest works Bride of the Wind is a tribute to her.

Deemed a degenerate by the Nazis, Kokoschka fled Austria for the United Kingdom in 1938 and remained there during the war. He traveled briefly to the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in in 1947Events January January 1 British mines nationalized January 1 Nigeria gains limited autonomy January 1 The Canadian Citizenship Act went into effect January 3 Proceedings of the United States Congress are televised for the first time. January 10 United Na before settling in SwitzerlandThe Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in central Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The country has a strong tradition of political and military neutrality, but also of international c, where he died.