Collection

Cobra Collection & Research Center

Collection

Introduction to Cobra Art from the NSU Art Museum Collection

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale houses the largest collection in the United States of Cobra art, an international, interdisciplinary, and collective art movement dating from 1948-1951. Established in Paris, CoBrA is an acronym for the three capital cities in which its founding members lived and worked: Copenhagen (Denmark), Brussels (Belgium), and Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

Members of Cobra were young, idealistic, avant-garde artists, philosophers, poets, and writers. They sought the realization of a new, direct, dynamic, and spontaneously realized post-World War II art that was free of Western post-Medieval traditions. They sought to create a collaborative, experimental art based on folk art, imagination, the intuitive, myth, Non-Western art, and children’s drawings.

Their bold, highly colorful, sometimes irreverent images of abstract, and semi-abstract forms were imaginative and often child-like—an expression of the artists’ socialist and theoretical ideas. They often wrote poems and essays about these ideas, which they published in periodicals they organized, Cobra and Helhesten. Although the Cobra movement was short-lived (1948-1951), its artists worked independently thereafter, often furthering the aesthetic and ideals of the Cobra movement. The work they produced after 1948 became a major force in the development of American and European modern art from mid-century to the present.

Most of the more than 1,700 works in the Museum’s collection were donated beginning in 1978 by Golda and Meyer Marks, long-time Miami Beach residents, who began collecting Cobra art in 1962. The keen eye and determination of these avid collectors resulted in the creation of an historically significant and comprehensive collection of Cobra art and archival materials.

The collection includes works by more than thirty artists from various European countries, such as Pierre Alechinsky (Belgium), Else Alfelt (Denmark), Karel Appel (the Netherlands), Constant (the Netherlands), Corneille (Belgium), Jacques Doucet (France), William Gear (Scotland), Karl Otto Götz (Germany), Svavar Gudnason (Iceland), Asger Jorn (Denmark), Carl-Henning Pedersen (Denmark), Shinkichi Tajiri (United States), and Serge Vandercam (Denmark), among others. See a full list of artist in the collection.

The Knight Foundation, Linda Marks supported the publication of the catalogue, The Golda and Meyer Marks Collection of Cobra Art (Skira 2017).

Exhibition catalogues available in the Museum store include War Horses: Helhesten and the Danish Avant-Garde During World War II (NSU, 2015).

To purchase this or any other museum catalog, please contact the museum store at 954-262-0255 or email us at [email protected]

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Collection

Highlights and selected images

Cobra Collection, Group photograph of Future artists for the Høst exhibition in Copenhagen, 1948. Background drawing by Carl-Henning Pedersen. Courtesy of the Cobra Museum.

Asger Jorn, Illustration for Genia Katz Rajchmann’s The Girl in the Fire (Pigen-I-Ilden), 1939, pen, pencil and watercolor on paper, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-43.b

Carl-Henning Pedersen, Fairytale Picture (Eventyrbillede), 1943, oil on canvas, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-79.33

Corneille, The Butterfly Bird (L’Oiseau papillon), 1978, color lithograph, ed. E/A, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-117

Henry Heerup, Untitled, illustration for Jens August Schade’s Fun in Demark (Sjovi Danmark), 1945, lithograph, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-167

Asger Jorn, Untitled [Shrovetide barrel], c. 1941, oil on wood (barrel), NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-227

Ejler Bille, Large Mask (Store maske), 1944, Bronze, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-235

Eugéne Brands, Mask, 1946, mixed media (paper-mache, cork, shells), NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-352

Henry Heerup, Den Lille Dirigent (Little Conductor), 1948, oil on canvas, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks, M-357

Collection

Cobra Artists in the Golda and Meyer Marks Cobra Collection

Image credit: Group photograph of Future artists for the Høst exhibition in Copenhagen, 1948. Background drawing by Carl-Henning Pedersen. Courtesy of the Cobra Museum. Standing (from left to right): Sixten Wiklund, Ernest Mancoba, Carl-Henning Pedersen, Erik Ortvad, Ejler Bille, Knud Nielsen, Tage Mellerup, Aage Vogel-Jørgensen, Erik Thommessen. Siting (from left to right): Karel Appel, Tonie Sluyter, Christian Dotremont, Sonja Ferlov-Mancoba, Wonga, Else Alfelt. On the floor (from left to right): Asger Jorn, Corneille, Constant, Henry Heerup.

The collection includes works by more than thirty artists from various countries

Pierre Alechinsky: born 1927 in Brussels, Belgium, lives and works in Bougival, France
Else Alfelt: born 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Karel Appel: born 1921 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; died 2006 in Zurich, Switzerland
Jean-Michel Atlan: born 1913 in Constantine, Algeria; died 1960 in Paris, France
Mogens Balle: born 1921 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 1988 in Asmindrup, Denmark
Ejler Bille: born 1910 in Odder, Denmark; died 2004, Ørby, Denmark
Eugène Brands: born 1913 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; died 2002 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Pol Bury: born 1922 in La Louvière, Belgium; died 2005 in Paris, France
Jacques Calonne: born 1930 in Mons, Belgium; lives and works in Belgium
Hugo Claus: born 1929 in Bruges, Belgium; died 2008 in Antwerp, Belgium
Constant (Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys): born 1920 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; died 2005 in Utrecht, the Netherlands
Corneille (Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo): born 1922 in Liège, Belgium; died 2010 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Christian Dotremont: born 1922 in Tervuren, Belgium; died 1979 in Buizingen, Belgium
Jacques Doucet: born 1924 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France; died 1994 in Paris, France
William Gear: born 1915 in Methil, Fife, Scotland; died 1997 in Birmingham, England
Stephen Gilbert: born 1910 in Wormit, Fife, Scotland; died 2007 in Frome, Somerset, England
Maggi Giles: born 1938 in Cornwall, English; died 2017 in Niederbreitbach, Germany
Karl Otto Götz (K.O. Götz): born 1914 in Aachen, Germany; died 2017 in Niederbreitbach, Germany
Svavar Gudnason: born 1909 in Höfn í Hornafirdi, Iceland; died 1988 in Reykjavík, Iceland

Henry Heerup: born 1907 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 1993 in Vanløse, Denmark
Egill Jacobsen: born 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 1998 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Neils Jensen: born 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark; lives and works in Mallorca, Spain
Asger Jorn (Asger Oluf Jörgensen): born 1914 in Jutland, Denmark; died 1973 in Aarhus, Denmark
Lucebert (Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk): born 1924 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; died 1994 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands
Tage Mallerup: born 1911 in Randers, Denmark; died 1988 in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Richard Mortensen: born 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died January 1993 in Ejby, Denmark
Erik Ortvad: born 1917 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 2008 in Kvänjarp, Sweden
Carl-Henning Pedersen: born 1913 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Jean Raine: born 1927 in Schaerbeek, Belgium; died 1986 in Rochetaillée-sur-Saône, France
Reinhoud (Reinhoud d’Haese): born 1928 in Geraardsbergen, Belgium; died 2007 in Paris, France
Anton Rooskens: born 1906 in Griendtsveen, the Netherlands; died 1976 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Shinkichi Tajiri: born 1923 in Los Angeles, California; died 2009 in Baarlo, the Netherlands
Erik Thommesen: born, 1916 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Walasse Ting: born 1929 in Shanghai, China; died 2010 in New York, New York
Raoul Ubac: born 1910 in Malmedy, Belgium; died 1985 in Dieudoone, France
Serge Vandercam: born 1924 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 2005 in Wavre, Belgium
Theo Wolvecamp: born 1925 in Hengelo, the Netherlands; died 1992 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Collection

Exhibitions of Cobra Art at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale

Since Mr. and Mrs. Marks’ initial donation in 1978, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale has organized numerous exhibitions of Cobra art.

2022
The Eye of CoBrA

2022
Confrontation: Keith Haring and Pierre Alechinsky

2016–2017
Human Animals: The Art of CoBrA
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University Museum of Contemporary Art (September 15–November 20, 2016)
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale (July 9–October 8, 2017)

2015–2016
War Horses: Helhesten and the Danish Avant-Garde During World War II (May 17, 2015–February 7, 2016); https://nsuartmuseum.org/exhibition/war-horses-helhesten-and-the-danish-avant-garde-during-world-war-2/
Carl-Henning Pedersen and Else Alfelts Museum, Herning, Denmark (March 18–August 28, 2016)

2014-2013
Spirit of CoBrA (November 8, 2013–May 18, 2014)

2014
Cobra Works from the Permanent Collection (March 1–July 13, 2014)

2013
Associations and Inspirations: The CoBrA Movement and the Arts of Africa and New Guinea (March 2–October 20, 2013)

2011
Associations and Inspirations: The CoBrA Movement and the Arts of Africa and Oceania (May 29, 2011–September 9, 2012)

2010
Selections from the Meyer and Golda Marks CoBrA Collection (May 8–September 10, 2010)

2009
The Many Faces of CoBrA (October 18, 2009–September 9, 2012)

2006
Karel Appel: In Memoriam (June 1–May 12, 2006)
CoBrA (November 3, 2006–October 22, 2007)

2002
Appel, Dotremont & Jorn: Three Titans of CoBrA
Corneille: Works on Paper (January 1–May 12, 2002)
Selections from the Marlene & Jerome Brody CoBrA Collection (July 26–December 28, 2002)

2001
Selections from the CoBrA Collection (March 1–June 1, 2001)

2000
CoBrA: Revisted (January–April 2000)
CoBrA: A Celebration of Anarchy (May 20–September 23, 2000)

1999
CoBrA Puppet Gallery

1998
Karel Appel, CoBrA’s Wild Man (January–February 1998)
CoBrA: A Celebration (January–July 1998)

1994
Figurative CoBrA (May 3–August 10, 1994)

1993
The Many Sides of Karel Appel (December 24, 1993–April 15, 1994)

1992
Belgian CoBrA & Beyond (February 7–July 12, 1992)
Asger Jorn: Works on Paper (July 16, 1992–January 30, 1993)
Asger Jorn: Paintings 1940–1972 (September 12, 1992–August 15, 1993)
The Marks’ Legacy: Highlights from their CoBrA Collection (September 15, 1992–January 24, 1993)

1991
The Danes of CoBrA (July 23, 1991–January 12, 1992)

1990
CoBrA on Parade: A Survey (September 15, 1990–January 10, 1991)
Dutch CoBrA (September 15, 1990–July 28, 1991)

1989
Pierre Alechinsky: Works on Paper (October 15–December 31, 1989)

1987
Homage to Asger Jorn on the Fortieth Anniversary of the Cobra Group (December 17, 1987–April 1, 1988)

1986
Masterworks from the Meyer and Golda Marks Cobra Art Collection (January 18–March 30, 1986)
Karel Appel, Recent Paintings and Sculpture: Clouds, Windmills, Nudes and Other Mythologies (October 1–November 30, 1986)

1985
Karel Appel: Cobra’s Child (February 6–March 24, 1985)

1984
Corneille: Paintings and Graphics (March 7–25, 1984)
Reinhoud: Sculpture (April 4–29, 1984)

1982
Cobra Celebration: New York–Fort Lauderdale. Collaboration Paintings: Christian Dotremont and Mogens Balle (September 8–26, 1982). The words “New York” in the title of this exhibition refer to a 1982 exhibition of Asger Jorn’s work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York to which the Fort Lauderdale museum loaned Asger Jorn’s Poor Poet (Pauvre poète),1962 (pl. 2)
Paintings, Prints, Sculpture, and Ceramics: Asger Jorn (September 8–26, 1982)

1981
Cobra Art: From The Meyer and Golda Marks Collection (February 11–March 29, 1981)

1979
Recent Acquisitions from the Permanent Collection (September 6–30, 1979)

Image Credits: Cobra artists bringing their work to the “International Exhibition of Experimental Artists,” Stedelijk, Amsterdam, 1949. Courtesy of the Cobra Museum. Photo credit: Mrs. E. Kokkorris-Syrie. From left to right: Anton Roosken, Unknown, Bert Schierbeek, Theo Wolvekamp, Eugène Brands, Karl-Otto Götz, Corneille, Jacques Doucet, Pierre Alechinsky, Tony Sluyter, Lucebert, Jan Elburg, Shinkichi Tajiri, Gerrit Kouwenaar, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Karel Appel, and Victor Nieuwenhuys (with a painting by his father).

Collection

Cobra at Other Institutions

Exhibitions since 2014 have been generously supported by Linda Marks and Stephen Marks, the daughter and son of the collectors, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Wells Fargo, Dan Lewis, Jan Lewis, Dr. David & Linda Frankel, Christie’s, Jacqueline Niehaus, Lee Sider & Gregory Stanton, the David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation, Hudson Family Foundation, Wege Foundation, Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, Danish Consulate and The Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York as part of the Dutch Culture USA program.

American Institutions Housing Major Collections of Cobra Art

Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Chazen Art Museum, University of Wisconsin, Madison

American Institutions Housing examples of Cobra Art

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Rochester, New York

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York

Canton Art Museum, Canton, Ohio

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis. Missouri