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 artists.

Cotman was born in Norwich, England, on 16 May 1782, the eldest son of a prosperous silk merchant and lace dealer, and was educated at the Norwich School. He showed a talent for art from an early age and would often 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 1797-8, initially making a living through commissions from print-sellers. He came under the patronage of Dr. Thomas Monro, physician to Bridewell and the Bethlehem Hospital, whose house in Adelphi Terrace was a studio and a meeting place for artists. There Cotman made the acquaintance of J. M. W. Turner, Peter de Wint and Thomas Girtin who became an 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, aged 18, Cotman exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time, showing five scenes of Surrey and one of Harlech Castle. He probably spent the summers of 1800 and 1801 touring Wales, as he showed Welsh scenes at the academy in 1801 and 1802. In 1800 he was awarded an honorary palette by the Society of Arts. He continued to exhibit at the academy until 1806, and went on several extended drawing trips through England and Wales. In the three summers of 1803–5 he stayed with the Cholmeley family at Brandsby Hall in Yorkshire. On the last of these three visits to Yorkshire, he made a series of watercolours of the River Greta.

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