Attributed to John Sell Cotman

John Sell Cotman (1782–1842) was born in Norwich on 16 May 1782, the eldest son of Edmund Cotman, a former hairdresser who became a prosperous silk mercer and lace dealer, and Ann Sell. Educated at Norwich Grammar School from 1793, he displayed prodigious artistic talent from childhood, sketching local scenes like *House at St Stephen's Road, Norwich* as early as 1794. Lacking formal art training, Cotman moved to London around 1798, where he immersed himself in Dr. Thomas Monro's influential sketching circle alongside J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Girtin, and Peter de Wint. He joined Girtin's sketching club, traveling with him through Wales and Surrey, honing his skills through these expeditions and exhibiting Welsh landscapes at the Royal Academy from 1800.

Returning to Norwich in 1806, Cotman became a pillar of the Norwich School of painters, exhibiting 149 works with the Norwich Society of Artists and serving as its president from 1811. He married Ann Miles in 1809; their sons Miles Edmund (b. 1810) and John Joseph (b. 1814) followed in his footsteps as painters. Relocating to Great Yarmouth in 1812, he produced masterful marine watercolours capturing sea waves and shipping. Cotman's Romantic style emphasized bold, flat washes, intricate architectural etchings inspired by Piranesi, and luminous landscapes; standout works include *Greta Bridge* (c. 1805), *Ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire* (1803), and *Devil's Elbow, Rokeby Park* (c. 1806) from his Yorkshire sojourns with the Cholmeley family. Normandy tours in 1817–1820 yielded publications like *Architectural Antiquities of Normandy* (1822).

In 1834, Cotman moved to London as Master of landscape drawing at King's College School, a post secured with Turner's endorsement that stabilized his finances. Despite bouts of depression, he etched *Liber Studiorum* (published 1838) and created late gems like *Storm off Cromer* (1841). Cotman died in London on 24 July 1842. Though underappreciated in life, his posthumous reputation soared; art historians rank him among Britain's supreme watercolourists, rivaling Turner and Constable for his originality in land, sea, and architecture. Major collections at Leeds Art Gallery, British Museum, and Tate hold his finest works, cementing his enduring legacy in British Romanticism.