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Lot 3224 - A189 Impressionist & Modern Art - Friday, 28. June 2019, 05.00 PM
OSKAR KOKOSCHKA
- Anne Burnett, Fort Worth Texas.
- Dvio Gallery, Tel Aviv.
- Sotheby's Park Bernet, New York, auction 6 November 1981, lot 365 (with ill.).
- Galerie Bargera, Cologne (1982-85).
- Christie's, London, auction 26 March 1984, lot 29 (with ill.).
- Koller Auktionen, Zurich, auction 29/30 November 1985, lot 5152 (with ill.).
- Private collection Switzerland, bought at the above auction and by descent to the present owners.
Exhibition: New York 1966, Oskar Kokoschka, Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, October - November 1966, no. 58 (with ill. p. 78).
Literature:
- Online Catalogue raisonné of the Fondation Oskar Kokoschka (http://www.oskar-kokoschka.ch/index.php/werkkatalog-109.html), no. 1960/1 (with ill.).
- Goldscheider, Ludwig: Oskar Kokoschkas Bildnismalereien aus den letzten sieben Jahren, in: Die Kunst und das schöne Heim, Munich, year 63, 1964/65, book 4, January 1965, p. 139-143 (with ill.).
Oskar Kokoschka is considered one of the greatest portraitists of his time. Thus, it is not surprising that portraits comprise nearly half of his works. Kokoschka developed his unmistakable, expressive style early in Vienna. In 1909, the architect Adolf Loos became aware of the artist. Impressed by his skill, Loos urged Kokoschka to portray his circle of acquaintances. At the beginning, he primarily captured the likenesses of Viennese artists and writers, later turning to the greats of his time, particularly after the Second World War. Important leading figures from home and abroad, such as Churchill, Gandhi, the Pope and Adenauer, commissioned portraits from him.
In the present work, the artist portrayed the 22-year-old Texan patron Anne Windfohr Marion, formerly Burnett (born 1938). An American rancher and horse breeder from Fort Worth, Texas, she is an avid art collector and founder of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fee, New Mexico. Anne studied art history in Geneva, where she probably met Kokoschka, who had moved to the town of Villeneuve on Lake Geneva in 1949 and remained in Switzerland for the rest of his life.
In his later portraits, as well as in his cityscapes, Kokoschka created structure through the use of colour, rather than through a naturalistic representation. By enhancing a characteristic trait, a famous building or a distinctive facial feature, the artist ensured recognition without using many details. This resulted in representations expressing more than the immediately visible features. Employing fast, dynamic brushstrokes, the artist was able to successfully capture the character and soul of his sitters and bring their portraits to life.
CHF 60 000 / 80 000 | (€ 61 860 / 82 470)
Sold for CHF 146 700 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.