# Egill Jacobsen artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/egill-jacobsen/
Profile generated: 2026-05-24T22:13:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1910-12-16
- Death date: 1998-04-21
- Nationality: Danish
- Movements: Cobra (CoBrA)
- Common media: painting

## About Egill Jacobsen

Egill Jacobsen (1910–1998) was a Danish painter central to the Cobra movement, the post-war avant-garde collective that brought together artists from Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Born and based in Copenhagen, Jacobsen developed a distinctive style of expressive, often mask-like figuration rendered in bold, unrestrained color. His work is rooted in spontaneous, experimental painting that pushed against the geometric abstraction dominant in earlier twentieth-century Danish art. Jacobsen held a professorship at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, reinforcing his influence on subsequent generations of Scandinavian painters. His paintings appear in major international museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

## Common works and media

Jacobsen is best known for oil paintings on canvas and board featuring mask-like faces, mythological figures, and vividly colored abstract compositions. Works on paper, including gouaches and ink drawings, also appear regularly at auction. Lithographs and limited-edition prints from Cobra-related portfolios circulate as well. Subjects range from stylized heads and masks to animal and fantasy motifs rendered in a spontaneous, gestural manner characteristic of the Cobra aesthetic.

## Market and appraisal context

Egill Jacobsen's work circulates actively in the European and Scandinavian auction market, with over 250 recorded lots. Collectors evaluating Jacobsen paintings should consider the work's connection to the Cobra period, its provenance within Danish gallery or museum exhibition history, date of execution, condition, and medium. Oil paintings from his most recognized Cobra-era output tend to attract stronger collector interest than later works on paper. Authentication may benefit from consultation with the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History) or a specialist in post-war Danish art.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page draws on identity records from the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, and Wikidata, combined with auction-lot data from the Invaluable database. Appraisal guidance incorporates auction-house context, realized prices, and comparable lots where available.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/41397
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3049203
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/40183895/
- Getty Research Institute: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500027467
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egill_Jacobsen
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83048575
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/6876