John Sell Cotman
John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842)[1][2] was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator and author, a leading member of the Norwich school of artists.
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[edit] Life
[edit] Early life and work
Cotman was born in Norwich, England, the eldest son of a prosperous silk merchant and lace dealer, and was educated at the Free Grammar School. He showed a talent for art from an early age and would go out on frequent drawing trips into the surrounding countryside.
His father intended him to go into the family business but instead, intent on a career in art, he moved to London in 1797-98, initially making a living through commissions from print-sellers. He came under the patronage of Dr. Thomas Monro, whose house was also a studio and a meeting place for artists. There Cotman made the acquaintance of J M W Turner, Peter de Wint and Thomas Girtin - the last, in particular, becoming a very influential figure in his artistic development. He joined a sketching club started by Girtin, and went on drawing expeditions to Wales and Surrey.
In 1800, at the age of eighteen, Cotman exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time, and was also awarded an honorary palette by the Society of Arts. He continued to exhibit at the Academy until 1806, and also went on several extended drawing trips through England and Wales.
[edit] The Norwich Society years
In 1807 he returned Norwich and, joined the "Norwich Society of Artists", exhibiting many of his works there in 1808. In 1811 he became president of the society.
In 1809, Cotman married Ann Mills, daughter of a local farmer. They went on to have five children together. His main living came from teaching art and one of his students, the local antiquary Dawson Turner, became a good friend, introducing him to many pupils and collaborating on one of his books. Apart from painting and drawing, Cotman made many etchings of old buildings and sepulchral brasses in Norfolk which were published in four volumes between 1811 and 1819. He also made several journeys to Normandy in France, between 1817-20, and the engravings produced were also published in two volumes in 1822.
From 1812 to 1823, Cotman lived in Yarmouth and, being on the coast, was able to study shipping and master the form of waves. Some of his finest marine pieces date from this time.[3] However, he returned to Norwich in 1824 in order to improve his financial position, and showed work from 1823 to 1825 at the Society of Artists' annual exhibitions. He was collected prints, books and armour, and also had a many models of ships to help him with his compositions.
In 1825, Cotman became an Associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours and was a frequent exhibitor until 1839. However he was driven to despair by his constant financial struggles.
[edit] King's College, London
In January 1834 Cotman was appointed Master of Landscape Drawing at King's College School in London, partly on the recommendation of J M W Turner. In 1836, his son, Miles Edmund was appointed to assist him. Dante Gabriel Rossetti was one of his pupils.
In London Cotman was friends with a number of artists including James Stark, George Cattermole, Samuel Prout and Cornelius Varley. In 1836, he became an honorary member of the Institute of British Architects. In 1838, all of his etchings were published by Henry George Bohn including "Liber studiorum".
Cotman died in July 1842, and was buried in the cemetery behind St. John's Wood chapel. Subsequently, all of his works and his collection of prints and books were sold by auction at Christie's, realising just over £525 - a relatively paltry sum.
His sons, Miles Edmund Cotman and John Joseph Cotman, also became painters of note. Cotman's name is used as a trademark by Winsor & Newton for a range of artist's watercolour materials.
[edit] Work
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Cotman worked in oils, watercolour, pencil and chalk, as well as producing many hundreds of etchings. His work can be found in the UK at the Castle Museum and Art Gallery in Norwich (well over 2000 pieces), Tate Gallery, British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, City Art Gallery in Leeds and other regional centers. In the USA, Cotman is represented at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut and other galleries around the country.
[edit] Notes
- ^ *Lee, Sidney (Ed.). Dictionary of national biography, Volume 12 (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1887) pp. 285-7.
- ^ *Binyon, Laurence. John Chrome and John Sell Cotman (1897).
- ^ Binyon, p. 75 (1897)
[edit] Bibliography
- By Cotman
- Cotman, J. S. Etchings of Ancient Buildings in England (1811)
- Cotman, J. S. Specimens of Norman and Gothic Architecture in the County of Norfolk (1817)
- Cotman, J. S. & Cromwell, Thomas. Excursions in the County of Norfolk (1818).
- Cotman, J. S. Sepulchral brasses in Norfolk (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1819).
- Cotman, J. S. & Turner, Dawson. Architectural Antiquities of Normandy, Volume 1 of 2 (1822).
- About Cotman
- Binyon, Laurence. John Chrome and John Sell Cotman (London: Seeley & Co., 1897), p49-102.
- Holme, Charles (Ed.). Masters of English landscape painting: J. S. Cotman, David Cox, Peter De Wint (London: The Studio, 1903).
- Holme, Charles (Ed.). The Norwich School (The Studio, 1920) p. 17 ff.
- Kitson, S.D. The Life of John Sell Cotman (Faber & Faber, 1937).
- Holcomb, Adele M. John Sell Cotman. (British Museum Publications, 1978). ISBN 0-7141-8004-1
- Rajnaj, M. John Sell Cotman 1782-1842 (Cornell University Press, 1982)
- Wilton, Andrew & Lyles, Anne. The Great Age of British Watercolours, 1750-1880. (Prestel, 1993) ISBN 3-7913-1254-5
- Lyles, Anne & Hamlyn, Robin.British watercolours from the Oppé Collection (Tate Gallery Publishing, 1997). ISBN 1-85437-240-8
- Hill, David. Cotman in the north: watercolours of Durham and Yorkshire (Yale University Press, 2005). ISBN 0300107048
- Moore, Andrew & others. John Sell Cotman: master of watercolour (Norfolk Museums Service, 2005). ISBN 0-90310-178-5
[edit] External links
- J S Cotman online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Gallery of Cotman's works (selected) (Castle Museum & Gallery, Norwich)
- Gallery of works (comprehensive) (Castle Museum & Gallery, Norwich)
- "Greta Bridge" and "The Drop Gate, Duncombe Park" (Watercolours - British Museum)
- Find-A-Grave profile for John Sell Cotman
