To put it plainly, the work of Emil Nolde (1867-1956) is not well known enough on these shores. That’s why we’re publishing the first ever English language introduction of this extraordinary painter.

Celebrated for his vivid oil and watercolours Nolde’s paintings were rejected by the Berlin Secession and reviled by Hitler and the National Socialists. In 1937, twenty-seven of Nolde’s paintings were exhibited and widely ridiculed at the Nazi organised Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition, with a further thousand works being confiscated from museums and galleries.

Covering everything from his place in European landscape painting to his involvement in the Die Brücke group, it is our hope Emil Nolde: Artist of the Elements might prompt a major museum to mount an exhibition in Britain of this neglected German master.

To give you a flavour of the brilliance and breadth of Nolde’s work – which includes landscapes, flowers, religious subjects, night scenes in Berlin, still lifes, portraits and seascapes – below is a selection of our favourites included in the book, which, since you ask, is out at the end of March. Simply click on a thumbnail to begin the slideshow.

Landscare, North Friesland, 1920, oil on canvas, 86.5 x 106.5 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Ruffled Autumn Clouds, 1927, oil on canvas, 73.5 x 88.5, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Frisian Farm on a Canal, 1935, oil on canvas, 73.5 x 88.5, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Spring in the Room, 1904, oil on canvas, 88.5 x 73.5, Nolde Siftung Seebüll

Dance II, 1911, oil on canvas, 104.5 x 61 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Candle Dancers, 1912, oil on canvas, 100 x 86 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Pentecost, 1909, oil on canvas, 87 x 107 cm, Staatliche Museen Preussicher Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalerie, Berlin / Bridgeman

New Guinea Tribesmen, 1915, oil on canvas, 73 x 100.5 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Family at the Edge of the Woods, 1913/4, watercolour and Indian Ink, 34.7 x 48 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

White and Red Amaryllis, undated, watercolour, 33.5 x 45.6 cm, Kunsthalle Hamburg / Bridgeman

Large Poppies (Red, Red, Red), 1942, oil on canvas, 73.5 x 89.5 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Young Danish Woman, 1913, lithograph, 68.5 x 57 cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Sea with Red Sun, undated, 18 x 22.8cm, Nolde Stiftung Seebüll

Top image shows Emil Nolde and his wife Ada punting in a boat in the 1920s © Nolde Stifting Seebüll

All images in this article have been taken from Emil Nolde: Artist of the Elements by Averil King. For more, a chapter from the book is available to read online and to download here.