Adele Astaire - Oskar Kokoschka
Archival giclée
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Description
A 1926 expressionist portrait of the dancer Adele Astaire by Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka, featuring energetic brushwork and a psychological focus.
Painted in London in 1926, this portrait of the American dancer Adele Astaire captures the distinctive approach of Oskar Kokoschka during his middle period. Kokoschka, a central figure in the development of Austrian Expressionism, moved away from the rigid academic traditions of his contemporaries to focus on the psychological state of his subjects. In this work, the application of paint is energetic and direct, with visible brushwork that conveys a sense of immediacy.
Adele Astaire is depicted in a domestic setting, accompanied by a small dog. The composition is structured around the contrast between the subject and her surroundings. Kokoschka employs a palette that balances deep blues and reds against more muted tones, creating a tension that draws the viewer towards the sitter's direct gaze. The background elements, including a secondary figure or sculpture on the left, add a layer of narrative ambiguity common in the artist's portraiture. The spatial arrangement is compressed, pushing the figure towards the front of the picture plane, which forces an intimate engagement between the subject and the observer.
Kokoschka's technique here avoids smooth blending, preferring instead to build form through colour and gesture. This method allows the artist to communicate the personality of the sitter rather than a mere physical likeness. The presence of the dog and the objects surrounding Astaire suggests a casual, lived-in environment, yet the intensity of the brushwork elevates the scene beyond a simple domestic study. This painting remains a clear example of the artist's ability to synthesise observation with subjective interpretation, a hallmark of his career in Europe during the interwar years.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
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To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Adele Astaire - Oskar Kokoschka
Artist Biography
Oskar Kokoschka
He was born in 1886 in Pochlarn, Austria. He was shot through the head in Ukraine and bayoneted in the chest in Russia. He survived both.
After the war, he commissioned a Munich dollmaker named Hermine Moos to create a life-size replica of Alma, sending detailed instructions about the feel of her skin and the weight of her body. Moos covered the figure in feathers instead. Kokoschka eventually staged a public execution: he decapitated the doll and smashed a bottle of wine over its head on his lawn. The police arrived the next morning, thinking he had murdered a woman.
The Nazis declared him a degenerate artist. He fled Czechoslovakia for London after the Munich Agreement and became a British citizen in 1947. His Expressionist portraits are among the most psychologically penetrating of the twentieth century: raw, agitated surfaces that seem to expose the sitter's interior state. He lived to ninety-four.
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