Meadowlark Gallery: The Artist Biographies


A. D. M. Cooper (1856-1924)

Astley David Montague Cooper was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1856 and died in San Jose, California in 1924. He was a California Indian and figure painter in addition to being an illustrator for Leslie's. Cooper was a descendant of Maj O'Fallon who was Catlin's friend and of George Rogers Clark the explorer. Art was studied at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. A series of portraits of Indian chiefs was Cooper's first success which was completed before he reached the age of twenty one. In 1883, he moved to San Jose, California where he maintained contacts with Eastern art dealers so that his western wildlife series of paintings was popular both in this country and in Europe. He became an authority on the history of the American West. In the 1890's, he was the most widely known of the local painters of the large barroom oils of plump nudes realistically depicted.

View high resolution images of works by A. D. M. Cooper when available.