Oil on canvas. Featuring abstract composition, untitled. Signed and attributed to Anton Rooskens (Dutch, 1906-1976) on the lower right corner. 7.7 x 8.1 in. (19.5 x 20.5 cm) Years before the founding of Cobra, Rooskens was already an established painter who had several solo exhibitions. He was the eldest of the preceding group 'The Experimentalists' and the only one who had developed his own style prior to the event of Cobra. His war experiences and the impact of seeing ancestral effigies from New Guinea at an exhibition called 'Kunst in Vrijheid' (Art in Freedom) in 1945 convinced him that a complete new approach was called for. At the time he joins the Cobra group in 1948 he is 39 years old. Creating spontaneously was, according to many Cobra painters, more important than the final result. This idea led to a free style of painting for Rooskens. He did not worry any longer whether one could recognize the motif, but paints vigorous forms during this period. He uses black and very bright colours, a combination that grants his art a dynamic character. In the present lot a deep red in the background is combined with bright yellow, green and black. The fluent and lively brushstrokes seem to be applied nearly automatically and more or less subconsciously. Over it he paints with strong lines a mysterious figure in dark orange. Unlike his colleagues Appel and Brands, Rooskens was never inspired or influenced by children's drawings. Instead he worked with controlled spontaneity. He did use the child as a motive, but without associating it to childishness and naivety. His forms remain primitive emphasizing magic, like in the intriguing contrast between the black and red in the present lot. PROVENANCE: Southern Ontario estate

All lots that do not carry established documented provenance nor any past record of auction history record are described in the catalog as attributed .

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American, 19th century : This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).