Ann Eliza Rises Up Out of the Coffin

Oskar Kokoschka (1886 – 1980, Austrian-German) “Ann Eliza Rises (Straightens) Up Out of the Coffin” (ANN ELIZA richtet sich aus dem Sarg auf) (plate, folio 13) Hand signed, black and white lithograph. The image was created for the artist/author’s rare 1952 illustrated book, ‘Ann Eliza Reed’ consisting of eleven lithographs including a front cover. There were only 660 copies of the illustrated book printed plus a small special edition of signed hors-texte (off text) lithographs, printed on Zanders -"Bütten":10 paper. The 8 x 8-inch image is on a 10.5 x 15-inch sheet, and the artwork has been matted and placed in a 14 x 18-inch black wood frame with all around measurements of 15.5 x 19.5 inches. Catalog reference: Hans M. Wingler and Friedrich Welz, “Oskar Kokoschka.” Catalogue of the printed graphic works No. 195.
Oskar Kokoschka Bio (excerpts) from https://www.moma.org: Painter, printmaker, dramatist. Published his fairy tale “Die träumenden Knaben” (The Dreaming Boys) in 1908, the first of several books he wrote and illustrated. His friendship with architect and critic Adolf Loos influenced him toward an expressive, gestural style of painting in portraits and other figurative scenes. From 1910, he was connected with Expressionist circles in Berlin. He volunteered for the Austrian army in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1915. From 1916 to 1931, was supported by Paul Cassirer (and following his death, his gallery), who published many of his prints. Kokoschka moved to Dresden in 1917 and taught at the art academy from 1919 until 1923. Later resettled in Vienna, where he lived from 1931 to 1934.

Kokoschka was labeled a “degenerate” artist by the Nazis, who confiscated 417 works from German museums. To avoid the Nazis, he fled to Prague (1934–38), then London (1938–53). Spent final years, from 1953 to 1980, in Switzerland. He produced more than 560 prints, approximately one-third in the 1910s and 1920s. Most are lithographic or photolithographic portraits or book illustrations, which, like his drawings, feature a nervous, electrically charged style.

Oskar Kokoschka’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, among others.