Cornelis Spoor artwork • watercolour • drawing • previously for sale A portrait of a baby

Between 1884 and 1887 Cees Spoor attended the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam, where August Allebé was in charge at the time. He was part of a group of gifted impressionists, of whom Breitner and Isaac Israels would later become the best known. His oeuvre mainly includes landscapes, figures and portraits. Through contacts with Jan Toorop, Spoor came to Domburg in Zeeland for a few years in the summer from 1908 onwards. Piet Mondrian is there too. In 1908, Mondrian, Sluijters and Spoor, who knew each other from the academy, conceived the plan to hold an exhibition together in the Stedelijk Museum. It was built in 1909 and caused a lot of controversy. The innovative Sluijters and Mondrian experimented with free brushstroke and colour and garnered sharp criticism, while Spoor stayed closer to his subjects. He then led a quiet and unremarkable life in Haarlem and and became best known for his children's portraits. He also illustrated children's books.