The American artist Alfred Cohen (1920-2001) won a fellowship in 1949 on graduation from the Art Institute of Chicago to come to Europe for a year. He never left, studying and living in Paris and Germany before moving to London in 1960.
Cohen’s work moved between the European figurative tradition and emerging American abstract expressionism, exploring motifs including the French coast, breath-taking panoramas of the river Thames, haunting figures from the commedia dell’arte, and intensely coloured, richly textured landscapes ablaze with light and colour. His exhibitions in Paris and London were critically acclaimed and sold well. Film stars, directors and producers collected his pictures.
Cohen’s work has been acquired by over 50 public collections including the Arts Council, the Ben Uri Collection, the British Council, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Government Art Collection, the Jerwood Collection, the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Pallant House Gallery, and the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia.
Centenary Programme
To mark Cohen’s centenary, which fell in 2020, the Foundation collaborated on four different exhibitions in London and Norfolk which were extended into 2021.
Watch the latest of our short videos here by guest speakers focusing on individual pictures or themes
For further information about Cohen’s life and work click here.