We would like to add some remarks to the biographical information on the opposite page. Many will know Kokoschka from earlier, if nothing else, from his participation in the large German exhibition in Kunstnernes Hus 1932. Works by him can also be found in Norwegian private collections. Still, we who arrange this exhibition have the feeling that we, with him, in a way, return to an era that is so distant that it will be unknown to a large part of our audience. In fact, it is also 20 years since Hitler pulled the plug on this era, and although it was passionate and hectic and filled with strange events, recent world events have made it fade in my memory. Only for some of our countrymen is it undoubtedly unforgettable. The artists who visited Germany in the time before 1933 will link rich associations to names and concepts such as "die Brücke", "der Sturm", "Blaue Reiter" - in short to German expressionism. It has been liberating to many, the ruthless will to express themselves - Kirchner, Nolde, Schmidt-Rottluf, Heckel, Kokoschka .... A will to express that was born of the time itself, and which did not let itself be inhibited by taste and good feelings. German expressionism seemed brutal, upsetting and formless. Yet today we can see that it had form, that in the most intense way it covered the sum of raw and bitter experiences time bestowed on the artists.
It is our hope - and Kokoschka has promised it - that we will soon be able to show a representative selection of his paintings. We think it will show what naturalness and consistency Kokoschka builds up his dynamic images, and we think they can once again seem fruitful.
The exhibition of Kokoschka's lithographs, drawings and watercolors can be regarded as an introduction to the large exhibition we are waiting for. But we believe that this part of his work will also stand as a closed and characterful expression of his personality. It may already give us back some of the best values ​​in the expressionist art.
We would like to thank those who have helped to make this exhibition possible and above all Mr. Wolfgang Gurlitt - Edvard Munch's old friend and admirer - who from his large Kokoschka collection has sent us this selection. And we would like to thank Oskar Kokoschka himself for the hospitality he has shown us in our inquiry - and the promise he has given us about a later larger exhibition.

The management of Kunstnernes Hus.