Abraham Cooper (1787–1868) was a British animal and battle painter.

Life

Family grave of Abraham Cooper in Highgate Cemetery

The son of a

tobacconist A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retail business that sells tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampe ...

, he was born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, London on 8 September 1787."Fighting for the Standard at the Battle of Marston Moor"

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

collections. Retrieved 10 June 2015 At the age of thirteen he became an employee at Astley's Amphitheatre, and was afterwards a groom in the service of Henry Meux, a brewer and later the first of the Meux baronets. When he was twenty-two, wishing to possess a portrait of a favorite horse under his care, he bought a manual of painting, learned something of the use of oil-colours, and painted the picture on a canvas hung against the stable wall. His master bought it and encouraged him to continue in his efforts. He accordingly began to copy prints of horses, and was introduced to Benjamin Marshall, the animal painter, who took him into his studio, and seems to have introduced him to the ''

Sporting Magazine ''The Sporting Magazine'' (1792–1870) was the first English sporting periodical to devote itself to every type of sport. Its subtitle was "Monthly Calendar of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chase and Every Other Diversion Interesting to the ...

'', an illustrated periodical to which he was himself a contributor. In 1814 he exhibited his ''Tam O'Shanter'', and in 1816 he won a prize for his ''

Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a tactical victor ...

''. In 1817 he exhibited his ''

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters unde ...

'' and was made associate of 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 ...

, and in 1820 he was elected Academician. Cooper, although ill-educated, was a clever and conscientious artist; his colouring was somewhat flat and dead, but he was a master of equine portraiture and anatomy, and had some antiquarian knowledge. He had a special fondness for

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

and

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

pictures. He died on 24 December 1868 and is buried at the top of the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

(plot no.830), against the north wall.

Paintings

* ''Bosworth Field'' (1825; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas) * ''The Death of Sir Francis Russell, who was treacherously slain at a Border Meeting, July 16, 1585'' (1827;

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 for Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of Fran ...

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

) * ''Battle of Zutphen, 1586'' (1826;

) * ''The Battle of Marston Moor'' (1819; Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston) * ''The Heroic Conduct of Cromwell at Marston Moor'' (1821;

Chequers Chequers ( ) is the English country house, country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is near the village of Ellesborough in England, halfway betwee ...

House,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

) * ''Cromwell leading his Cavalry into Battle'' (

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

Museums, at Cromwell House,

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

) * ''Battle Scene'' (attr.) ( Guildhall Art Gallery, London) * ''Wellington's First Great Victory – The Battle of Assaye'' (

The Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons (LD) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northe ...

) * ''The Battle of Ligny'' (Lord Egremont,

Petworth House Petworth House is a late 17th-century Grade I listed English country house, country house in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the desi ...

)

Gallery

File:Abraham Cooper (1787-1868) - Marshal Blücher at the Battle of Ligny, 16 June 1815 - 485150 - National Trust.jpg, '' Marshal Blucher at the Battle of Ligny, 1815 Image:CribandRosa1811.jpg, '' Crib and Rosa'', 1817 Image:Abraham_Cooper_-_Tam_O'Shanter.png, ''Tam O'Shanter'' Image:Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth by Abraham (Abram) Cooper.jpg, ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

and the Earl of Richmond During the

Battle of Bosworth Field The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of House of Lancaster, Lancaster and House of York, York that extended across England in the latter half ...

'' File:Print,_1866,_by_Edward_Hacker_(1813-1905),_after_Abraham_Cooper,_RA,_(1787–1868),_shooting_scene,_UK.jpg, Engraving after Cooper, by Edward Hacker (1813–1905), 1866.

References

Works about

* Harrington, Peter (1993). ''British Artists and War: The Face of Battle in Paintings and Prints, 1700–1914.'' London: Greenhill.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Abraham 1787 births 1868 deaths Painters from London 19th-century English painters English male painters Equine artists Royal Academicians 19th-century English male artists Burials at Highgate Cemetery