Austin Cooper Canadian-British, 1890-1964

Austin Cooper was born in March 1890 in Souris, Manitoba, Canada. In 1896 he moved with his family to Cardiff, where he studied at the city's School of Art. In 1905 he studied at the Allan Frazer College of Art, Arbroath, having won a scholarship, after which he moved to London to attend evening classes at the City and Guilds School, Kennington. Cooper returned to Canada until 1915 where he worked as an interior decorator and commercial artist before joining the army. He served at Flanders during the war, and returned to Canada after his serivce. In 1922 he settled back in London where he worked until 1943 designing posters. At this stage Cooper began painting, and he had his first solo exhibition in 1948 at the London Gallery and in 1959 at the Galerie Craven in Paris. He has exhibited at Gimpel Fils since 1955.