Letter from Oskar Kokoschka to J.P. Hodin

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[Translation/transcription]

120 Eyre Court
Finchley Road
London NW8

2 February 1948

My dear Dr Hodin,

As a homage to my work, your book 'Oskar Kokoschka: The Artist and His Time' moved me deeply. But it will also be a precious gift to a generation of young people who have been more or less uprooted from their own countries and will have a hard time finding their feet because they have never received the cultural values of the past. The particularly rare value of your book lies in its attempt to make the connection between artistic creation and cultural tradition. You have gone to such great lengths to bring together so much previously unpublished material. This material will illuminate the mystery of creation and the social conditions of our times for a lay public who, following the spirit of the age, try in vain to understand the creative process by rational means. Artistic experimentation can't be done in a test tube, and yet it's important for all of us because it reminds us of our humanity, which is easily forgotten in this age of decline.

I'm convinced that this book will be one of the most significant publications about modern art and that it will meet a real need for broad swathes of people in Europe and America. I do hope you'll find a sympathetic publisher who'll help you give the book the fine form it deserves. I'll do everything I can to be of assistance to you, so that the final edit of the manuscript meets with universal approval.

I'm touched by your warm understanding and gratefully accept this as a sign of your deep friendship for me and my work.

Most sincerely yours,

Oskar Kokoschka

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