Milein Cosman
Encyclopedia
Milein Cosman is an artist
who specializes in studies of musicians in action, such as Britten
, Stravinsky
, and Furtwaengler
. She has lived most of her adult life in London
.
Milein Cosman was born in Gotha
, Germany
, but spent a part of her childhood in Düsseldorf
. Between 1937 and 1939 she went to school in Switzerland
, at the École d'Humanité and the International School of Geneva
. She came to England
in 1939.
Once in the UK, she attended the Slade School of Art (located in Oxford during the war years), where she studied drawing under Randolph Schwabe and lithography
under Harold Jones
. In 1943 she attended evening classes at the Polytechnic at Oxford, where she was taught by Bernard Meninsky
.
For two years from 1943, Milein Cosman worked on a milk float
and taught French and Art at a convent school. In the evenings she gave lectures on Art for the Workers' Educational Association
. In 1945, however, she moved to London where, while continuing to teach evening classes for the WEA, Red Cross and WMCA, she also worked for the American Broadcasting Station in Europe.
In 1946, she began to illustrate books, and to work as a freelance artist contributing drawings to magazines and newspapers. Her speciality was producing drawings of musicians and dancers, often sketching very rapidly during a rehearsal or performance. It was while on an assignment to draw the conductor and singers at a concert that she met the musician and writer Hans Keller
, whom she subsequently married. The couple remained together until Keller's death in 1985; during this time she illustrated some of his work, and drew and painted many portraits of him.
Milein Cosman made a series of schools programmes on drawing for ITV in 1958.
In all, she has had nearly two dozen solo shows. Her work has been acquired by the British Museum
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
, the National Portrait Gallery, the Ashmolean Museum
, the Fitzwilliam Museum
, the Hunterian
, the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf and the Centre for Fine Arts (BoZar) of Brussels.
1957: Matthiessen Gallery, London
1970: Theatre des Champs-Élysées (Festival International de Danse, British Council), Paris
1988: Stadtmuseum, Düsseldorf
1996: Belgrave Gallery, London
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who specializes in studies of musicians in action, such as Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, and Furtwaengler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
. She has lived most of her adult life in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Milein Cosman was born in Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, but spent a part of her childhood in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. Between 1937 and 1939 she went to school in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, at the École d'Humanité and the International School of Geneva
International School of Geneva
The International School of Geneva , also known as Ecolint, is a private international school based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the oldest currently operating International School in the world...
. She came to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1939.
Once in the UK, she attended the Slade School of Art (located in Oxford during the war years), where she studied drawing under Randolph Schwabe and lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
under Harold Jones
Harold Jones (artist)
Harold Jones was a British artist and illustrator and author of children's books who established his reputation with This Year: Next Year , for which he produced lithographs illustrating verses by Walter de la Mare...
. In 1943 she attended evening classes at the Polytechnic at Oxford, where she was taught by Bernard Meninsky
Bernard Meninsky
Bernard Meninsky was a figurative artist, painter of figures and landscape in oils, watercolour and gouache, draughtsman and teacher. He was born in Karotopin now in the Ukraine but raised in Liverpool where he attended the Liverpool School of Art in 1906 after initially attending evening classes...
.
For two years from 1943, Milein Cosman worked on a milk float
Milk float
A milk float is a battery electric vehicle , specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk. They were once common in many European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, and were operated by local dairies...
and taught French and Art at a convent school. In the evenings she gave lectures on Art for the Workers' Educational Association
Workers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
. In 1945, however, she moved to London where, while continuing to teach evening classes for the WEA, Red Cross and WMCA, she also worked for the American Broadcasting Station in Europe.
In 1946, she began to illustrate books, and to work as a freelance artist contributing drawings to magazines and newspapers. Her speciality was producing drawings of musicians and dancers, often sketching very rapidly during a rehearsal or performance. It was while on an assignment to draw the conductor and singers at a concert that she met the musician and writer Hans Keller
Hans Keller
Hans Keller was an influential Austrian-born British musician and writer who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being an insightful commentator on such disparate fields as psychoanalysis and football...
, whom she subsequently married. The couple remained together until Keller's death in 1985; during this time she illustrated some of his work, and drew and painted many portraits of him.
Milein Cosman made a series of schools programmes on drawing for ITV in 1958.
In all, she has had nearly two dozen solo shows. Her work has been acquired by the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, the National Portrait Gallery, the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
, the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
, the Hunterian
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
The University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is the oldest public museum in Scotland. It is located in various buildings on the main campus of the University in the west end of Glasgow.-History:...
, the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf and the Centre for Fine Arts (BoZar) of Brussels.
Books Produced or Illustrated by Milein Cosman
- Hans Keller and Donald Mitchell (eds) (with drawings by Milein Cosman): Benjamin Britten: A Commentary on his Work from a Group of Specialists (London, 1952)
- A Musical Sketchbook (1957)
- Neville CardusNeville CardusSir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
(with drawings by Milein Cosman): A Composer's Eleven (London, 1958; ISBN 0-8369-1554-2) - (with Hans Keller): 'Stravinsky at Rehearsal' (1962; published in Germany as 'Stravinsky Dirigiert')
- (with Hans Keller): 1975 (1984 minus 9) (London, 1977)
- (with Hans Keller): Stravinsky Seen and Heard (Toccata Press, 1982; ISBN 0-907689-02-7).
- (With Hans Keller): The Jerusalem Diary - Music, Society and Politics, 1977 and 1979 (Ed. C. Wintle & F. Williams) 2001, ISBN 0-9540123-0-5
Solo Shows and Exhibitions
1949: Berkeley Gardens, London1957: Matthiessen Gallery, London
1970: Theatre des Champs-Élysées (Festival International de Danse, British Council), Paris
1988: Stadtmuseum, Düsseldorf
1996: Belgrave Gallery, London