Frederick George Cotman (14 August 1850

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

–1920) was an English painter of

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s and interiors and a member of the

Norwich School of painters The Norwich School of painters was the first provincial art movement established in Britain, active in the early 19th century. Artists of the school were inspired by the natural environment of the Norfolk landscape and owed some influence to the wo ...

Life

Frederick George Cotman - One of the Family - Google Art Project

Frederick was born into the Cotman family of artists. His parents were Henry Edmund Cotman (1802–1871), formerly a

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

merchant and his wife Maria Taylor (1813–1895). His elder brothers, Henry Edmund Cotman (1844–1914), and Thomas Cotman (1847–1925) were born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before the family moved to Ipswich. Frederick was born at 186 Wykes Bishop Street,

in 1850 and was the youngest child of the family He was the nephew of

John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, author and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a silk merchant and lace dealer, Cot ...

and the cousin of

John Joseph Cotman John Joseph Cotman (1814–1878) was an English landscape painter, the second son of John Sell Cotman. Life Cotman was born in 1814 at Southtown, Great Yarmouth, and was baptised on 6 June 1814.John Joseph Cotman in "England Births and Christen ...

and

Miles Edmund Cotman Miles Edmund Cotman (5 February 1810 –23 January 1858) was an English artist of the Norwich School of painters, the eldest son of John Sell Cotman. Life Cotman was born on 5 February 1810, the son of the artist John Sell Cotman and Ann Mile ...

. He was a private pupil of William Thomson Griffiths, the Head of

Ipswich School of Art Ipswich School of Art (ISA) was an art school in Ipswich, Suffolk. It was founded as the Ipswich School of Science and Art which opened on 10 January 1859. It continued to have an independent existence until 1997, when it was absorbed by the Uni ...

.Walpole, ''Art and Artists of the Norwich School'', p.107-8. Cotman links with the Norwich School of painters arise mainly because of his family connection with John Sell Cotman, who was one of its leading artists. However he never lived in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, unlike so many of the artists of the school. He worked in both

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

. His best known work, ''One of the Family'', is now held by the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Throughout his career, which was generally spent in

, he created over thirty paintings. He was a founder member of the influential Ipswich Art Club, and remained a member of it all his life. Cotman died in

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

on 16 July 1920.

References

Bibliography

External links

Works by Frederick George Cotman
in the Norfolk Museums Collections
''Frederick George Cotman''
– Suffolk Artists website
Works by Frederick George Cotman
at ArtUK. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotman, Frederick George 1850 births 1920 deaths Artists from Ipswich