James Pattison Cockburn | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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James Pattison Cockburn

See alsoTOPOGRAPHIC PAINTERS.
St Peter Street
St Peter Street, watercolour, pen and ink over pencil, by James P. Cockburn (courtesy Royal Ontario Museum).

James Pattison Cockburn

  James Pattison Cockburn, soldier, topographic painter (b at Woolwich, Eng 1778-79; d there 1847). He learned painting from Paul Sandby at the Royal Military College and soon became a respected amateur artist associated with the Norwich Society of Artists; from 1807 he illustrated numerous travel books on European subjects. As an officer in the Royal Artillery, he served twice in Québec - from 1822 to 1823 and from 1826 to 1832 as commander. His precise depictions of Québec City have become a priceless record of its early architecture. In 1831 he published his own travel bookQuebec and Its Environs, with the aid of a young local engraver, James Smillie. Two years later in London, he produced sets of aquatint prints of Québec City and Niagara Falls.

See alsoTOPOGRAPHIC PAINTERS.

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