Edward John Cobbett was a skilled English painter of landscapes and genre who exhibited regularly at London’s Royal Academy.

Born in Westminster, London, Cobbett was initially trained as a wood carver, probably by his father, who was a skilled ‘carver and gilder’. Evidently, the young man adopted the trade with considerable vigour, as some of his early carvings can be seen at York Minster.

Around the age of 20, he began to pursue a career as an artist, and it's presumably at this point that he undertook formal tuition with the landscape painter Joseph William Allen (1803-1852). Allen was a founding member of the Society of British Artists, and his influence is evident.

Following his 1833 debut at London’s Royal Academy, he matured into an artist of considerable merit, particularly popular among the rising middle classes. He was known by the Victorian press as one of the last great ‘bohemians’, thus associating him with a social and cultural milieu of freedom-loving, anti-establishment creatives. As a member of London’s Savage Club, his circle was a most intriguing one and included writers, artists, and musicians who sought to live on the fringes of society.

This liberal sense of ‘joie de vivre’ translated through his work into depictions of ebullient country folk undertaking wholesome daily activities. Via his numerous rustic characters, he celebrated a simpler, albeit idealised, working-class utopia. The urban-dwelling bourgeois lapped it up, escaping into the abundance of an imagined moor, and vanishing into a community unplagued by formal rigour.

Aside from the Royal Academy, his works were also shown at the British Institution, Liverpool Academy, and the Society of British Artists, where he was elected a member in 1856. He’s known to have collaborated with both William Shayer (1787-1879) and George Cole (1810-1883).

This piece from around 1860 is emblematic of his rose-tinted escapism and celebrates the honest endeavours of rural life. The details are skillfully rendered, particularly the hands, skin tones and head. While the composition, with the horizon line crossing just beneath the shoulders, creates interest and permanence. He fathered twelve children, including eight daughters, so it’s plausible that some of them appeared in his portraits. The girl bears some resemblance to his depiction of ‘The Crofter's Daughter’.

Edward John Cobbett is represented in numerous public collections, including at Glasgow Museum, the Walker Art Gallery, Worcester City Art Gallery, and York Art Gallery.

Exhibited

British Institution, Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Liverpool Academy. 

Public Collections

Glasgow Museum, Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery, The Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, York Art Gallery.

Timeline

1815

Born in Westminster, London, to Edward Cobbett, a carver and gilder, and Theodosia Mary Ann Cobbett (nee Rogers).

Initially trained as a wood carver.

c. 1835

Undertook his career as a painter.

Trained under Joseph William Allen (1803-1852), secretary of the Society of British Artists and drawing master of the City of London School.

1839

Married Mary Anne Haynes at Old Church, St Pancras, London.

1841

Lived with his wife, Mary, and son, Edward, in St Pancras, London.

Member of the Savage Club. 

1856

Elected a member of the Society of British Artists.

1861

Lived with his wife, Mary, and nine children, in St Pancras, London. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist. Figure Painter’.

1871

Lived with his wife, Mary, and four children, in St Pancras, London. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist’.

1881

Lived with his wife, Mary, two daughters, and niece, in St Pancras, London. Occupation recorded as ‘Artist. Figure Painter’.

1885

Retired.

1899

Died in Edmonton, London.

Obituaries

Northwich Guardian

“A considerable circle of artistic friends will hear with regret of the death of Mr. E. J. Cobbett, of the Royal Society of British Artists. Although his name has not been much before the public of late, he was to the last generation of artistic bohemians well known. Mr. Cobbett began life as a wood carver, and some of his work in this direction may be seen in the choir of York Minster.

Soon after the age of twenty he changed his profession for that of artist, and quickly made a name for himself as one of the chief exponents of the rustic school of painting, which had a great vogue from about the middle of the century to the early eighties. For over thirty consecutive years Mr. Cobbett was represented by one or more canvases in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy.”

Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald

“Probably only a few of the present generation will remember Mr. E. J. Cobbett, R.Β.A., whose death has just been announced. To the artistic world of the last generation, however, he was well known. He was of that small band of artists, actors, and men of letters who constituted the Savage Club in the old days when Bohemianism and exclusiveness were the purport of all its rules.

Mr. Cobbett began life as a wood-carver, and some of his work in this direction may be seen in the choir of York Minster. Soon after the age of 20 he changed his profession for that of artist, and quickly made a name for himself as one of the chief exponents of the rustic school of painting which had a great vogue from about the middle of the century to the early 'eighties. For over thirty consecutive years Mr. Cobbett was represented by one or more canvases in the exhibition of the Royal Academy.”