Cowper, Frank Cadogan (1877-1958)
Frank Cadogan Cowper, the last of the Pre-Raphaelites, was born
at Wicken in Northamptonshire in 1877. He entered St John's Wood Art School in 1896 and enrolled at the Royal Academy
Schools the following year. He was greatly influenced by the pre-Raphaelites. Cowper's work was first accepted at the Academy
in 1899. In 1902, after completing his training, he travelled to Italy before working for six months in the studio of
E.A. Abbey, R.A.
Cowper was elected ARA in 1907 and was made an RA in 1934. In 1910, Cowper was
commissioned to paint a mural for the House of Commons depicting a Tudor scene; and in 1912, completed further decorative
panels there. In the 1920s, he painted numerous portraits of women.
During the Second World War, Cowper moved to Jersey, but later returned to England, and settled in
Gloucestershire in 1944. He continued to exhibit until 1957. He died in Cirencester the following year at the ripe old age of
eighty-one.
