Oskar Kokoschka
Austrian, 1886–1980
Portrait of Niuta Kallin
INV-1860
Oskar Kokoschka
Austrian, 1886–1980c. 1922
Portrait of Niuta Kallin
Oskar Kokoschka Austrian, 1886–1980 →prints and drawingcrayon
Date
c. 1922
Medium
Black crayon on tan wove paper, laid down on wood pulp board
Dimensions
66.3 × 49.7 cm (26 1/8 × 19 5/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
The daughter of a Russian merchant, Niuta Kallin had an intimate relationship with Kokoschka and lived on and off with the artist between 1921 and 1925. The inscription below her left arm, which translates to “With passionate heart, your human arrow,” was often used by Kokoschka in his letters to Kallin. Malina (raspberry) was Kokoschka’s pet name for her and appears at the top left of the drawing. While the artist had written of her “stern and beautiful” eyes in a letter to her, this rendering captures the uncertainty brought on by their long distance relationship.
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