Alfred Cohen: An American Artist in Europe - Between Figuration and Abstraction

'Haven' can mean port or harbour, as well as a place of refuge or safety. Like many of Cohen's paintings of the Channel ports or the Norfolk coast, this one is both. As in some of his figure paintings, a painted grey border makes a frame within the frame, its slight irregularity drawing attention to how the partially abstract composition is built up mainly using rectangles or near rectangles. Diana Cohen has suggested that the sense of enclosure provided by this painted border echoes the sense of protection within the haven.