Thomas Sidney Cooper RA (1803–1902) was born in Canterbury, Kent. Showing artistic inclination from a young age, at twelve he began working as a coach painter and later a scene painter. His desire, however, was to become an artist, so he continued to draw and paint from nature in his spare time.
At twenty-one, with the help of an uncle, he moved to London and enrolled at the Royal Academy. On his return to Canterbury he was able to earn a living as a drawing-master and by the sale of sketches and drawings. In 1824, he travelled to Brussels where he met Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven, who had a great influence on his work. He also married. After the revolution broke out he and his wife returned to London in 1831, where Cooper started selling paintings of the cattle that he sketched at Smithfield Market.
In 1833 he made his debut at the Royal Academy, where he continued to exhibit regularly until his death. He also exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists and the British Institution between 1833 and 1863. He was elected ARA in 1845 and RA in 1867.
Cooper specialised in paintings of cattle or sheep, which earned him the nickname of 'Cow Cooper'. He became one of the most accomplished and successful animal landscape painters of the 19th century. Cooper was a great philanthropist in Canterbury, and used some of his wealth to distribute bread and coal to the poor at Christmas. In July 1901, he was awarded the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).
Cooper's work can be found in the collections of the Royal Museum in Canterbury, Tate Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Birmingham Museum, Brighton and Hove Museum, and Sheffield Museum, amongst others.
