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Illustration · Antigonish

John Sell Cotman

John Sell Cotman (British, 1782–1842) Active 1782–1842. Public-domain works from the Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access collection, used as development stand-ins for the Organized Chaos Arts directory.

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Development stand-in portrait: person with short hair in a wool sweater (not a photograph of John Sell Cotman)

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Selected work

IllustrationPrintmakingAntigonish

From the studio

5 works, from the studio to here.

  • Liber Studiorum: Devil's Bridge, Cardiganshire

    John Sell Cotman · Soft ground etching · 1838

    Cotman followed in the footsteps of Thomas Gainsborough and also worked in soft-ground etching (see Gainsborough’s Wooded Landscape with Cows in this gallery). Thirty-nine of Cotman’s landscape etchings were published as the Liber Studiorum in 1838. This composition was based on sketches the artist made on the site during his journey through Wales in 1800. Image and data from the Cleveland Museum of Art, released under Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

  • Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire

    John Sell Cotman · etching · 1810

    Rievaulx Abbey belongs to Cotman’s first series of etchings, published in 1811. The thirteen images depict the landscape of Yorkshire and picturesque architectural views such as rural cottages, ancient stone walls, and overgrown, ruined abbeys. The crumbling Gothic church was a quintessentially Romantic theme, intended to allude to a lost past. Image and data from the Cleveland Museum of Art, released under Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

  • Traveler in a Woodland Landscape

    John Sell Cotman · graphite and gray wash · 1806

    John Sell Cotman left his native Norfolk at the young age of 16 and traveled to London with the aspiration to be an artist. His work evolved at a rapid pace as he developed a highly original style remarkable for its simple elegance and schematic treatment of the natural world. This landscape was made soon after a trip to Yorkshire. Cotman largely ignored the noteworthy landmarks of the area, preferring obscure views—trees, crumbling stone walls, and dilapidated fences. Inspired by the Greta woods, the straining bows of the trees form a beautifully balanced structure of geometric and amorphous shapes. Image and data from the Cleveland Museum of Art, released under Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

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