He is believed to have been born in London, and was a nephew of John Hoskins, the miniature painter, by whom he was educated.[1] He lived in Henrietta Street,[a]Covent Garden, and frequented the Covent Garden Coffee-House. Samuel Pepys, who makes many references to him, tells us he was an excellent musician, playing well upon the lute, and also a good linguist, speaking French with ease. According to other contemporary writers, he was a short, stout man, of a ruddy countenance. He married one Christiana, whose portrait is at Welbeck Abbey, and he had one daughter. Christiana's sister Edith was the mother of Alexander Pope.[2]
In 1668 he was instructed by Pepys to paint a portrait of Mrs Pepys, for which he charged £30. He is known to have painted also the portrait of John Aubrey, which was presented in 1691 to the Ashmolean Museum. From his correspondence with John Ray, the naturalist. John Evelyn refers to him in 1662, when, on the occasion of the visit that the diarist paid to the king, Cooper was drawing the royal face and head for the new coinage.[1]
Examples of his work are to be found at Windsor Castle, Belvoir Castle, Montague House, Welbeck Abbey, Ham House, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and in the collection of Mr J. Pierpont Morgan. His largest miniature is in the possession of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon at Goodwood. A piece of the artists handwriting is to be seen at the back of one of his miniatures in the Welbeck Abbey collection, and one of his drawings in black chalk is in the University Gallery at Oxford. His own portrait of himself is in the collection of Mr J. Pierpont Morgan.[1]
The date of his death has been handed down by a record in the diary of Mary Beale, the miniature painter; and in some letters from Mr Charles Manners, addressed to Lord Roos, dated 1672, now amongst the Duke of Rutland's papers at Belvoir, the writer refers to Cooper's serious illness on 4 May 1672, and to his doubt as to whether the artist would ever recover. Mary Beale's reference to his decease is in the following words: "Sunday, May 5, 1672 Mr Samuel Cooper, the most famous limner of the world for a face, died."[1]
He is buried in St Pancras Old Church in London. His baroque memorial lies on the far east wall of the church.
According to the art historian George Charles Williamson, "There is urgent demand for a memoir of Samuel Cooper. The details of his life are hardly known. ... The early part of his artistic career he spent in Paris and Holland, and it is very likely that careful research in the records of the Bibliothèque Nationale might reveal information respecting him which would be of the greatest interest."[3]
Notes
^Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, is roughly parallel to and about halfway between Floral Street and the Strand, London.
^Williamson, G. C. (1897). "information on Samuel Cooper". Portrait miniatures: from the time of Holbein 1531 to that of Sir William Ross 1860. London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 36–41.
Sources
G. C. Williamson, History of Portrait Miniatures, Volume 1 (London: George Bell & Sons, 1904) p. 64.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samuel Cooper.
16 artworks by or after Samuel Cooper at the Art UK site
. Paintings & Drawings. Victoria and Albert Museum. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Williamson, George Charles (1911). "Cooper, Samuel". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Graves, Robert Edmund (1887). "Cooper, Samuel (1609–1672)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 148.
May 05, 2023
samuel, cooper, painter, samuel, cooper, 1609, 1672, sometimes, spelt, samuel, cowper, english, miniature, painter, younger, brother, alexander, cooper, samuel, cooper, unfinished, portrait, miniature, oliver, cromwell, 1650, samuel, cooper, grave, pancras, ch. Samuel Cooper 1609 5 May 1672 sometimes spelt as Samuel Cowper was an English miniature painter and younger brother of Alexander Cooper Samuel Cooper Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell c 1650 Samuel Cooper s grave Old St Pancras Church London Contents 1 Life 2 Notes 3 References 4 Sources 5 External links 5 1 AttributionLife EditHe is believed to have been born in London and was a nephew of John Hoskins the miniature painter by whom he was educated 1 He lived in Henrietta Street a Covent Garden and frequented the Covent Garden Coffee House Samuel Pepys who makes many references to him tells us he was an excellent musician playing well upon the lute and also a good linguist speaking French with ease According to other contemporary writers he was a short stout man of a ruddy countenance He married one Christiana whose portrait is at Welbeck Abbey and he had one daughter Christiana s sister Edith was the mother of Alexander Pope 2 In 1668 he was instructed by Pepys to paint a portrait of Mrs Pepys for which he charged 30 He is known to have painted also the portrait of John Aubrey which was presented in 1691 to the Ashmolean Museum From his correspondence with John Ray the naturalist John Evelyn refers to him in 1662 when on the occasion of the visit that the diarist paid to the king Cooper was drawing the royal face and head for the new coinage 1 Examples of his work are to be found at Windsor Castle Belvoir Castle Montague House Welbeck Abbey Ham House the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and in the collection of Mr J Pierpont Morgan His largest miniature is in the possession of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon at Goodwood A piece of the artists handwriting is to be seen at the back of one of his miniatures in the Welbeck Abbey collection and one of his drawings in black chalk is in the University Gallery at Oxford His own portrait of himself is in the collection of Mr J Pierpont Morgan 1 The date of his death has been handed down by a record in the diary of Mary Beale the miniature painter and in some letters from Mr Charles Manners addressed to Lord Roos dated 1672 now amongst the Duke of Rutland s papers at Belvoir the writer refers to Cooper s serious illness on 4 May 1672 and to his doubt as to whether the artist would ever recover Mary Beale s reference to his decease is in the following words Sunday May 5 1672 Mr Samuel Cooper the most famous limner of the world for a face died 1 He is buried in St Pancras Old Church in London His baroque memorial lies on the far east wall of the church According to the art historian George Charles Williamson There is urgent demand for a memoir of Samuel Cooper The details of his life are hardly known The early part of his artistic career he spent in Paris and Holland and it is very likely that careful research in the records of the Bibliotheque Nationale might reveal information respecting him which would be of the greatest interest 3 Notes Edit Henrietta Street Covent Garden is roughly parallel to and about halfway between Floral Street and the Strand London References Edit a b c d Williamson 1911 Graves 1887 Williamson G C 1897 information on Samuel Cooper Portrait miniatures from the time of Holbein 1531 to that of Sir William Ross 1860 London George Bell amp Sons pp 36 41 Sources EditG C Williamson History of Portrait Miniatures Volume 1 London George Bell amp Sons 1904 p 64 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samuel Cooper 16 artworks by or after Samuel Cooper at the Art UK site From John Hoskins to Samuel Cooper Paintings amp Drawings Victoria and Albert Museum Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Retrieved 21 August 2007 Attribution Edit This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Williamson George Charles 1911 Cooper Samuel In Chisholm Hugh ed Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Graves Robert Edmund 1887 Cooper Samuel 1609 1672 Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co p 148 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Samuel Cooper painter amp oldid 1153267239, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
