Glossary: Cobra

A short lived but important art group who formed in 1948 and held their one major exhibition in Amsterdam in 1949. The group were abstract expressionists, the leading members being Karel Appel and Asger Jorn. The name comes from the first letters of Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, the reference to a snake is purely coincidental, but they did not object as animals featured large in their works. The British artist Bill Gear was the only British member of the group.