John Copley

Copley, John (1875 - 1950)

Painter and printmaker John Copley was born in Manchester in 1875. He trained at Manchester School of Art and in the studio of Nicol and Cope before entering the Royal Academy in London.

Copley took up lithography in 1906 and in 1910 helped Joseph Pennell set up the Senefelder Club for the revival of lithography as a creative medium, acting as its secretary from 1911 to 1915. He emerged as one of the pre-eminent lithographers working in England in the first half of the twentieth century. He produced over 250 lithographs in the period up to 1938, working initially in colour but then exclusively in black and white. In 1930 he was presented with the chief award and medal at the first International Exhibition of Lithography at the Art Institute of Chicago.

In 1947 Copley was honoured with election as the president of the Royal Society of British Artists. Examples of his work can be found in the collections of the British Museum, Yale Center for British Art, and the V & A among many others. - Gerrish Fine Art