Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka made this self-portrait when he was 27 years old. Though World War I did not erupt until the following year, at the time he made this painting Europe was already feeling the tensions of the diplomatic clashes that would soon lead to war. The thickly painted, sickly colors, an unnaturally elongated head, and a hovering hand convey the tension and alienation Kokoschka sensed at the time.
Oskar Kokoschka Self-Portrait 1913
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 32 1/8 x 19 1/2" (81.6 x 49.5 cm)
- Credit
- Purchase
- Object number
- 26.1940
- Copyright
- © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pro Litteris, Zurich
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Oskar Kokoschka has 147 works online.
- There are 2,455 paintings online.
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View the German Expressionism: Works from the Collection project
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Installation views
We have identified these works in the following photos from our exhibition history.
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The Museum Collection of Painting and Sculpture
Jun 20, 1945–Feb 13, 1946
2 other works identified
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Oskar Kokoschka
Jul 19–Oct 4, 1949
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Summer Exhibition: New Acquisitions; Recent American Prints, 1947–1953; Katherine S. Dreier Bequest; Kuniyoshi and Spencer; Expressionism in Germany; Varieties of Realism
Jun 23–Oct 4, 1953
3 other works identified
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XXVth Anniversary Exhibition: Paintings from the Museum Collection
Oct 19, 1954–Feb 6, 1955
1 other work identified
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Art in a Changing World: 1884–1964: Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection
May 27, 1964
2 other works identified
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Permanent Collection
Mar 29, 1972–Apr 21, 1980
1 other work identified
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German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse
Mar 27–Jul 11, 2011
1 other work identified
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German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse
Mar 27–Jul 11, 2011
8 other works identified
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504: New Expression in Germany and Austria
Oct 21, 2019–Jun 25, 2023
2 other works identified
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504: Vienna Secession
Ongoing
12 other works identified
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504: Vienna Secession
Ongoing
12 other works identified
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.
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This work is included in the Provenance Research Project, which investigates the ownership history of works in MoMA's collection.
Rosy (1892-1926) and Ludwig (1860-1922) Fischer, Frankfurt am Main; sold by Rosy Fischer to the Städtisches Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Halle, December 1924 [2]; removed as "degenerate art" by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, 1937 [3]; on consignment to Karl Buchholz (1901-1992), Berlin, 1939; to Curt Valentin (1902-1954), New York, 1939; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 5, 1940.
[1] One of twenty-four paintings Rosy Fischer sold to the Museum für Kunst und Kunstgewerbe in Halle (contract between Rosy Fischer and the "Stadtgemeinde Halle," December 15, 1924, Archives of the City of Halle). See Andreas Hüneke, “Die lange Geschichte der Hallenser Fischer Bilder,” Expressionismus und Exil: Die Sammlung Ludwig und Rosy Fischer, Frankfurt Am Main, ed. by Georg Heuberger et al., exh. cat. Frankfurt: Jüdisches Museum, 1990, pp. 81-94. Before the painting was removed from the collection in 1937, it was included as "degenerate art" in the exhibition "Entartete Kunst" at the Städtische Galerie Nuremberg, September 7-September 21, 1935; and on display in the "Schreckenskammer / "Degenerate Art" galleries of the Städtisches Museum für Kunst und Kunstgewerbe, Halle, November 27, 1935-July 25, 1937 (see Beschlagnahmeinventar "Entartete Kunst", "Degenerate Art" Research Center, FU Berlin).
[2] EK no. 14199: Selbstbildnis.
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