Thomas Sidney Cooper

(1803-1902)

Born in Canterbury on 26th September 1803.As a child showed a marked interest in art. At the age of 12 he became assistant to a coach painter
which he later combined with scene painting. He devoted all his spare time to drawing and painting from nature.
In 1823 he went to London where, after working at the British Museum for a while, he became a student at the Royal Academy.

In 1827 he moved to Brussels where he married and stayed until 1831.He is generally regarded as the foremost cattle painter of his period. His specialisation in painting animals came about entirely due to a meeting with Eugene Verboeckhoven whom he worked under during this period.
He was a fairly prolific painter of both small and large canvasses, the larger ones often being special commissions for Victorian Industrial Barons.

Towards the end of his life he became extremely prosperous and settled near Canterbury.In 1882 the Sidney Cooper Art Gallery was erected
on the site of the house in which he was born.