Stanley Cosgrove’s early style was influenced by the work of French painters Georges Braque and Georges Rouault, though he studied in Montreal and did not travel to France until 1953. It was a trip to Mexico in 1940, funded by a Province of Quebec prize, that decisively shaped Cosgrove’s approach to painting. In Mexico he worked with muralist Jose Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) as an assistant on a fresco for the Hospital Jesus de Nazareno. The flattened decorative style of mural painting carried over into Cosgrove’s portraits, still lifes and landscapes. Upon his return to Canada, Cosgrove became a member of the Contemporary Arts Society and exhibited with them until 1946. In addition to his paintings, Cosgrove is known for his work in textile design and in public decoration as a fresco muralist.

Self-portrait, Mexico is a classic image of the creative artist in front of a canvas with palette and paintbrushes.