Richard Cooper (or Richard Cooper Jr. or Richard Cooper II; 6 February 1740 in Edinburgh – December 1822 at Eltham), he was the son of Richard Cooper senior (1701-1764) and his wife Anne Lind. He is considered one of Britain's Grand Masters in Watercolour and Drawing. Despite this, little is known about him. He was an exhibitor at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

. Cooper succeeded Alexander Cuzens as Drawing Master at Eton College and taught members of the Royal Family.

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

was England's enthusiastic Patron of the Arts and Queen to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. Queen Charlotte was interested in the arts and music. Cooper was her art teacher. Cooper was taught by his father before moving to Paris to train under the engraver, J. P. Le Bas. Cooper went to Italy around 1770 but by 1778 he was back in Britain. Original works are rare; The

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

has five original works and five prints; The

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in the UK and ...

has five prints; the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

has one original work and nine prints. The

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, however, has over ninety objects attributed to him including ten drawings and seventy four prints. Cooper's work is typically dark, as he specialised in charcoal, pencil, pen and ink. He drew with a reed pen, which he used with rapid and flowing movements to produce strongly contrasted areas of light and shade. The yellow-brown tone of his broad washes suggest the ink used was bistre. The washes were diluted and applied over the iron gall pen work, causing the ink lines underneath to "bleed". The sheet is left bare in places to suggest falling sunlight. He would often sketch a scene to complete it in his studio years later. His subjects include Edward Kynaston, Sir Robert Naunton,

John Lilburne John Lilburne (c. 161429 August 1657), also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "'' freeborn rights''", defining them as rights with which e ...

, Mary Frith and Daniel Dancer. His landscapes often included the Thames riverbank, and around Windsor Castle, where he used his connections to gain access.

References

External links

Works of Richard Cooper from the National Portrait Gallery collectionWorks of Richard Cooper from the Government Art CollectionWorks of Richard Cooper at The TateBiography of Richard Cooper II at the British Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Richard 1740 births 1822 deaths British artists