John Cochrane and Brothers was a family of Scottish

sculptors Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

known for works in both the United Kingdom and Canada. They were David, James and John Cochrane, the sons of James and Elizabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Paton) Cochrane.John Cochrane
–

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; french: Dictionnaire biographique du Canada) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a ...

Although not the eldest, John seemingly took a leading role in establishing the business. The children and their mother left Scotland for

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in May 1845. The sculpting business was continued, and John's advertisement in the 31 August 1847 edition of ''

British Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily Co ...

'' announced his field as "sculpture in marble and stone" and listed as his specialities "Statues, Coats of Arms, Monuments, Tomb Stones, Sun Dials, Fonts, Vases, Chimney Pieces, Modelling, Ornaments &c." He formed an association with Anglo-Canadian architect William Thomas (c. 1799–1860), who used the Cochranes on all his important commissions between 1845 and 1850. Elizabeth Cochrane died in 1846, the year after the family's arrival in Canada, at the age of 61.

John Cochrane

John Cochrane was baptised on 31 March 1813, near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Scotland. In 1847, at the Toronto Society of Arts exhibition, Cochrane exhibited a Gothic head carved in stone, an angelic head by Thomas, and the plans for the interior of Toronto's St. Paul's Cathedral. The following year, he served on the management committee for the exhibition, which put on display his plaster statue of

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

. Cochrane died in Toronto on 1 August 1850, at the age of 38. After his death, his brothers continued on the business, with stone-cutter Robert Pollock, as Cochranes and Pollock until 1852, when David Cochrane and Pollock formed a new partnership, based on Duke Street (now Richmond Street West), near Nelson Street.''The Canada Directory for Containing Names of Professional and Business Men, and of the Principal Inhabitants, in the Cities, Towns and Villages Throughout the Province; Alphabetical Directories of Banks...post Office Department, Post Offices & Postmasters...and Railway and Steamboat Routes Throughout Canada'', J. Lovell (1851), p. 775

David Cochrane

David Cochrane died on 25 March 1859, aged 42. His wife, Margaret Menzies Cochrane, later married Robert Sargant. She died on 28 May 1894, aged 81. Margaret is buried beside her first husband at Toronto Necropolis Cemetery.McKelvey, Margaret and Merilyn, ''Carved in Stone'' (Toronto, 1984)

James Cochrane

James Cochrane owned a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

factory on Queen Street East in Toronto as of 1851.''The Canada Directory for Containing Names of Professional and Business Men, and of the Principal Inhabitants, in the Cities, Towns and Villages Throughout the Province; Alphabetical Directories of Banks...post Office Department, Post Offices & Postmasters...and Railway and Steamboat Routes Throughout Canada'', J. Lovell (1851), p. 450''Canada ; Past, Present and Future Being a Historical Geographical, Geological and Statistical Account of Canada West'', Volume 1, William Henry Smith (1851), p. 49

Notable works

* Statue of Sir Walter Scott,

South Inch South Inch is a large public park in Perth, Scotland. About 31 hectares in size,The South Inch, ...

, Perth *Statue of

Thomas Hay Marshall Thomas Hay Marshall (1770 – 15 July 1808) was twice lord provost of Perth, Scotland. With a passion for Georgian architecture,Perth Museum and Art Gallery Perth Museum and Art Gallery is the main museum and exhibition space in the city of Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland. It is located in the Marshall Monument, named in memory of Thomas Hay Marshall, a former provost of Perth. The museum's locat ...

, Perth * Kinfauns Castle West Lodge gate piers (1826) *

Bank of British North America The Bank of British North America was founded by Royal Charter issued in 1836 in London, England with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, New Brunswick, Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland. It was the first bank operating in B ...

, Toronto (now demolished) (coat of arms stone carving) * St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Ontario (interior decorations) * St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica (stone and stucco ornamentation) and Bishop's Palace, Toronto (stone carving, including a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

in the central gable) *

St. Lawrence Hall St. Lawrence Hall is a meeting hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. It was created to be Toronto's public meeting hall home to public gatherings, concerts, and exhibitions. Its main featur ...

, Toronto (exterior embellishments)

Images

File:Perth Museum 1.jpg, Statue of

Thomas Hay Marshall Thomas Hay Marshall (1770 – 15 July 1808) was twice lord provost of Perth, Scotland. With a passion for Georgian architecture,St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica File:St. Michael's Cathedral Episcopal Palace.jpg, The Cochranes were responsible for this coat-of-arms carving on the Bishop's Palace at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in Toronto File:St Lawrence Hall, Toronto (exterior).jpg,

References

Sources

*MTRL, Toronto, Mechanics' Institute papers, D25. Toronto Soc. of Arts, Toronto Society of Arts: first exhibition, 1847 *Toronto Society of Arts: second exhibition, 1848 *''British Canadian, and Canada West Commercial and General Advertiser'' (Toronto), 27 March 1847 *''British Colonist'', 19, 26 March, 31 Aug., 3 Sept. 1847; 28 April 1848; 2 Aug. 1850 *''

Toronto Globe ''The Globe'' was a newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1844 by George Brown as a Reform voice. It merged with ''The Mail and Empire'' in 1936 to form ''The Globe and Mail''. History ''The Globe'' is pre-dated by a title of the same ...

'', 1 Aug. 1850. *Arthur, Eric, ''No Mean City'' (Toronto, 1964) *C. D. Lowrey, "The Toronto Society of Arts, 1847–48: patriotism and the pursuit of culture in Canada West," RACAR (Quebec and Toronto), 12 (1985): 3–44. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane and Brothers, John 1813 births 1850 deaths Architects from Perth, Scotland People from Old Toronto Scottish male sculptors Scottish emigrants to Canada 19th-century Scottish artists 19th-century Canadian sculptors 19th-century British sculptors 19th-century Scottish male artists