(Pöchlarn 1886–1980 Montreux)

St. Patrick. 1947–56.

Coloured crayon on paper.

Dedicated and signed lower right: for Jack's home coming from Oskar.
Inscribed upper right: St. Patrick.

32.2 × 25.6 cm.

Provenance:
- Jack Butler Yeats, received as a present directly from the artist.
- Private collection Northern Germany.
- Private collection Germany, acquired from the above collection in 2018.

The present work comes from the estate of the Irish artist Jack Butler Yeats. Artists' friendships, such as those known to us since the early beginnings of the Renaissance, were also a source of productive exchange during the period of Modernism. Against the backdrop of a culture dehumanised by world wars, the two unconventional painters, Oskar Kokoschka and Jack Butler Yeats, were connected by a desire to escape into their own mythological worlds. While Yeats' work revolves around the Irish landscape and the absurd world of the circus, Kokoschka's analysis of daily life focuses on the absurdity and ambivalence of a grim era. This artistic narrative, which is unusually relevant from a contemporary perspective, is combined in a very special way in the present work. With a personal dedication, the sheet is an expression of a special friendship that was characterised by artistic appreciation and personal respect.