WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›John Sell Cotman

John Sell Cotman

British, 1782–1842

WA-00037638

Norwich

Painting

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

135

Works in Collection

156

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

WikidataQ1288248

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Before Photography: Painting and the Invention of Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1981

No image

Masters of British Painting, 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1956

Field Verification (2 fields)

2 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Is PublishedManual· 100%✓
BiographyWikidata· 92%✓

Source Registry (1)

Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1288248
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

John Sell Cotman was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters.

Source: Wikidata · Trust score: 40% · Updated 11d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art Tate

Canonical record

Artworks (135)

Wooded Landscape

1841 · black chalk heightened with white on brown wove paper

overall: 28.7 x 37.3 cm (11 5/16 x 14 11/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Liber Studiorum: Twickenham

1838 · etching

Cleveland Museum of Art

Liber Studiorum: Devil's Bridge, Cardiganshire

1838 · Soft ground etching

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Devil's Tower

1833 · black chalk heightened with white on blue wove paper

overall: 12.2 x 16.9 cm (4 13/16 x 6 5/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

WattsOS

Boats off the Coast, Storm Approaching

1830 · Watercolor over traces of graphite, with gouache (bodycolor), scratching out, stopping out, and gum arabic

Sheet: 18 9/16 × 25 11/16 in. (47.2 × 65.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cattle at a Stream under Trees

1829 · Graphite on paper

support: 64 x 92 mm

Tate

The Drop Gate

1826 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 349 x 260 mm frame: 525 x 445 x 70 mm

Tate

WattsOS

The Abbatial House, Abbey of St. Ouen, Rouen

1824 · Graphite and watercolor, heightened with gouache (bodycolor) and with scratching out

Sheet: 21 x 28 3/4 in. (53.4 x 73.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Ruined Castle

1823 · Watercolor over graphite

Sheet: 8 1/16 × 10 11/16 in. (20.5 × 27.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tower of the Church of Haute Allemagne near Caen

1822 · etching

Cleveland Museum of Art

Sculpture in the Church of St Peter, Caen

1821 · Watercolour and graphite on paper

support: 238 x 178 mm

Tate

The Ramparts, Domfront

1820 · Ink and watercolour on paper

support: 222 x 321 mm

Tate

Crypt in the Church of St Gervais, Rouen

1819 · Graphite and watercolour on paper

support: 184 x 276 mm

Tate

Whitby

1819 · etching

Cleveland Museum of Art

North-West View of the Tower of the Church of Graville, Near Havre de Grace

1818 · Graphite and watercolour on paper

support: 225 x 171 mm

Tate

West View of the Castle at Falaise

1818 · Graphite and watercolour on paper

support: 222 x 356 mm

Tate

Château Gaillard

1818 · Graphite and watercolour on paper

support: 260 x 419 mm

Tate

North-West View of the Castle at Falaise

1818 · Graphite and watercolour on paper

support: 194 x 387 mm

Tate

Binnenhaven en kade te Fécamp

1818 · brush on paper, pencil

width: 443 cm, height: 258 cm

Rijksmuseum

Cley Church, Norfolk

1818 · Graphite and gray wash on ivory wove paper

17.3 × 26.9 cm (6 13/16 × 10 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

An Old House in the Rue Saint Jean at Caen, Normandy

1817 · graphite and wash on wove paper

sheet: 36.2 × 23.8 cm (14 1/4 × 9 3/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

WattsOS

The Town of Beccles from the Bridge

1813 · Pen and brown pen, brush and wash, over graphite

Sheet: 6 7/16 × 11 9/16 in. (16.3 × 29.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Doorway, Heckingham Church

1813 · Graphite and watercolor

sheet: 18 x 15 in. (45.7 x 38.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Easeby Abbey, Yorkshire

1811 · etching

National Gallery of Art

View all 135 artworks →

Artwork sources (6)

135 published of 135 catalogued · 127 with image

Tate
92 published92 img
Nga
13 published13 img
Art Institute Chicago
11 published11 img
The Met
8 published
Cleveland Museum of Art
7 published7 img
Rijksmuseum
4 published4 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 10)

10 entries · 1 sources

Liber Studiorum: Twickenham
1838 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Traveler in a Woodland Landscape
1806 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire
1810 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Ramparts, Domfront
1820 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Wherries on Breydon
1808 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Church near Durham
— · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Sculpture in the Church of St Peter, Caen
1821 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
A Galiot in a Gale
— · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Durham
1805 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
View at Walsingham, Norfolk
— · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

16 assets

Figuren en paarden in de haven van Fécamp

Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum

Tower of the Church of Haute Allemagne near Caen (1822)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland Museum of Art

Liber Studiorum: Devil's Bridge, Cardiganshire (1838)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland Museum of Art

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 16 media items →

Relationships

Collections4

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art Tate

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

National Gallery of Art

In collection

Tate

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Group Exhibition Before Photography: Painting and the Invention of Photography

New York · 1981

Group Exhibition Masters of British Painting, 1800�1950

New York · 1956