Portrait of Niuta Kallin

The daughter of a Russian merchant, Niuta Kallin had an intimate relationship with Kokoschka and lived on and off with the artist between 1921 and 1925. The inscription below her left arm, which translates to “With passionate heart, your human arrow,” was often used by Kokoschka in his letters to Kallin. Malina (raspberry) was Kokoschka’s pet name for her and appears at the top left of the drawing. While the artist had written of her “stern and beautiful” eyes in a letter to her, this rendering captures the uncertainty brought on by their long distance relationship.