In October 1913 the German Expressionist artist Emil Nolde (1867-1956) and his wife, Danish actress Ada Vilstrup, joined a government-sponsored expedition to German New Guinea, traveling by way of Siberia, Korea, Japan, China and the Philippines. Nolde had a lifelong fascination with the art of non-European cultures, admiring in particular qualities of directness and expressiveness that he found in their arts.

During this yearlong trip Nolde constantly drew and painted what he saw around him, principally lush, intensely colorful tropical scenes and portraits of indigenous peoples. This little gift book presents around 40 of the now famous landscapes and portraits that Nolde created during his travels.