John Wesley Cotton

John Wesley Cotton (1868-1931)

John Wesley Cotton was born in Simcoe County, Ontario in 1868. He received his initial training at the Art Students League between 1891-1892, later pursuing his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he found work at a printing firm and later at Transfer Lithography in Chicago (1902-1904). During this time, he became a member of the Palette and Chisel Club in the city. Between 1905 to 1915, Cotton exhibited his work at the Art Institute of Chicago, but returned to Toronto in 1909, where he worked on sketches and paintings of historical Toronto sites for the John Ross Robertson Historical Collection of the Toronto Public Library. Returning to Chicago, Cotton became a member of the Chicago Society of Etchers and later a member of the Chicago Watercolour Club. Cotton traveled to Europe and lived in London, where he exhibited his work with the Royal Academy of Art in 1912 and at the Walker Art Gallery that same year. Following his time in London Cotton returned to Toronto, where he taught other etchers the techniques he had learned in London; one of his students was Frederick S. Haines. He enjoyed his first solo exhibition at the Art Metropole Galleries and became a member of the Ontario Society of Artists; he also played a key role in establishing the Canadian Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. He later served as president for both of these organizations. Following the war, Cotton moved to California and would visit Toronto, where he died in 1931.