Thomas Sidney Cooper
1803-1902
Born in Canterbury, Kent, Thomas Sidney Cooper showed artistic promise even as a small child. He always had artistic inclinations, but his family circumstances did not allow him to receive any training. By age 12 he was working as a coach painter, and then obtained an additional job as a scene painter. He continued to desire the goal of being an artist full time and all his spare moments were spent drawing and painting from nature. At twenty he went to London and drew for awhile in the British Museum. He was finally recognized and admitted to Royal Academy.
Cooper was most known for his paintings depicting cattle and farm animals. So much so, that it earned him the descriptive nickname "Cattle Cooper".
In later life he was known as a great philanthropist, using his personal wealth to build many "Alms Houses" for the poor. Later he turned his private lessons into a full-fledged art school which is still open today under the name University of Creative Arts.
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