JOHN SELL COTMAN: LOST IN LANDSCAPE

Monday 13th May

JOHN SELL COTMAN: LOST IN LANDSCAPE

a lecture by Timothy Wilcox

John Sell Cotman was a true Romantic. A contemporary of Turner and Constable, he was one of the most original watercolour painters in what is now regarded as the Golden Age for the medium in British art. Yet, in his day, Cotman depended almost entirely on teaching and printmaking for his income.

This lecture explores Cotman’s early successes among the Welsh mountains and along the banks of the Greta in North Yorkshire. His ideal of total immersion in nature then eluded him for the best part of three decades, only to be recaptured in his final years. Cotman died unfulfilled, but was not forgotten. His greatest fame came in the 20th century and the lecture concludes with a brief look at the inspiration he lent to artists as diverse as Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious and John Piper.