John Paul Cooper (3 October 1869 – 3 May 1933) was a British architect and a leading craftsman in the Arts and Crafts Movement, specialising in metalwork and jewellery. He is particularly noted for the use of materials such as

shagreen Shagreen is a type of rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, historically from a horse's or onager's back, or from shark or ray. Etymology The word derives from the French ''chagrin'' and is related to Italian ''zigrino'' and Venetian '' ...

and

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

egg in combination with precious metals and

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

Architecture

Cooper studied architectural drawing for three years from 1888 as an apprentice to John Sedding in London and travelled in Europe in the 1890s with the architects Alfred Hoare Powell and

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

. In the 1890s he made various changes to buildings at St Margaret Works, Leicester for his father's company. He continued in architecture even after starting his own workshop, including building several cottages and an infant school.

Arts and Crafts

Cooper took up metalwork in 1897 on the advice of Henry Wilson, Sedding's chief assistant, who he had trained with for several years. Wilson also introduced him to gesso and

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

techniques. Cooper set up a workshop in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, sending four pieces to the

Arts and Crafts Exhibition The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

in 1899 but did not produce his first jewellery until 1900. He became Head of the Metalwork Department at

Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...

from 1904 to 1907 having taught there from 1901 onwards. Several of the craftsmen he employed in his workshop moved with him to teach at Birmingham, including his wife. In his teaching he believed that designers of metalwork should only design items that they themselves had the skill to produce. Cooper was renowned for the use of

in his designs, a material he started using in 1903 and it was through his use of it that it became established as a luxury material in the 1920s to 1930s. As well as his jewellery and metalwork Cooper also produced

watercolour 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 t ...

paintings. After the death of his father his inheritance enabled him to give up teaching and he moved to a rented house in Hunton. In 1910 he moved to

Betsom's Hill Betsom's Hill is a hill on the North Downs, and the highest point in the county of Kent at . Situated between Westerham and Tatsfield, at the western edge of the county, it lies close to where the A233 crosses the Downs en route to Biggin Hill. ...

, the highest hill in Kent, into a house and studio that he had designed himself in an 'Arts and Crafts homage to Kentish rural architecture'. He lived there until his death in 1933.

Influences and legacy

Cooper was influenced by the work of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

and collaborated with Ernest Gimson from 1902–1906, making handles for his furniture.

Bernard Instone Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

worked in Cooper's studio until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and Cooper was an influence on the work of

Edward Napier Hitchcock Spencer Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

. Cooper's works now feature in many museums including the V&A.

Family life

John Paul Cooper was the son of John Harris Cooper and grew up in

Rotherby Rotherby is a village and former civil parish, north east of Leicester, now in the parish of Hoby with Rotherby, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 133. Features Rotherby h ...

and then Evington Hall,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He worked with his second cousin May Morgan Oliver from 1899 and married her in 1901. Their son Francis worked with John as a metalworker from 1924.

Gallery

File:John Paul Cooper Pendant.jpg, A pendant of gold and silver, set with rubies, chrysoprases, sapphires, aquamarines and opals File:John Paul Cooper Casket.jpg, An octagonal casket decorated in gilt gesso. File:JohnPaulCooperChalice.JPG, A chalice from the collection of the

Cecil Higgins Art Gallery The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum is the principal art gallery and museum in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, run by Bedford Borough Council and the trustees of the Cecil Higgins Collection. Overview The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum is in the Ca ...

, on display in Bedford.

References