She was best known for her graphic work of leading cultural figures, dancers and musicians in action, such as Francis Bacon, Mikhail Baryshnikov, T. S. Eliot and Igor Stravinsky.
[3][4][5] Some books of his writings – The Jerusalem Diary (2001), Stravinsky The Music Maker (2010) and Britten (2013), for example – include many of her drawings and prints.
[7] She was renowned for drawing quickly, and much of her work was done from the wings or auditorium during rehearsals for concerts, theatrical and dance performances, capturing movement “in mid-flight” as Ernst Gombrich put it.
[4] In 2014, a documentary film about Milein Cosman, directed by Christoph Böll, premiered in Düsseldorf in her presence.
[11] 1949: Berkeley Gardens, London 1957: Matthiessen Gallery, London 1968: City of London Festival 1969: Camden Arts Festival 1970: Theatre des Champs-Élysées (Festival International de Danse, British Council), Paris 1974: Ryder Gallery, Los Angeles 1984: Yehudi Menuhin School, Surrey 1984: Dartington Hall, Devon 1988: Stadtmuseum, Düsseldorf 1990: Clare Hall, University of Cambridge 1996: Belgrave Gallery, London 2007: Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels 2008: Austrian Cultural Forum, London 2014: Hunterian Museum, Glasgow 2014: Kunstforum, Gotha 2015: Rathaus, Düsseldorf 2019: Clare Hall, University of Cambridge 2021: Stadtmuseum, Düsseldorf (centenary exhibition of works by Ilde Schrader and Milein Cosman, who were childhood friends) 2021: Hampstead School of Art, London 2022: Bundestag, Berlin (a joint exhibition including works from the art collection of the Akademie der Künste) 2022: Palais des Beaux Arts (Bozar), Brussels (permanent exhibition of drawings of musicians by Milein Cosman) 2022: Haus Hövener, Brilon (exhibition of works by Milein Cosman and Ilde Schrader) 2024: Stadtmuseum Bonn