Robert Cottingham (935) is known for his paintings and prints of urban American landscapes, particularly building facades, neon signs, movie marquees, and shop fronts. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1955 through 1958, he earned a BFA at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1963. Cottingham began his professional artistic career as an art director for the advertising firm Young and Rubicam in the early 1960s. Although he is typically associated with Photorealism, Cottingham never considered himself a Photorealist, but rather a realist painter working in a long tradition of American vernacular scenes.
In 1964, Cottingham relocated to Los Angeles for work. There, inspired by the drastically different environment of the West Coast metropolis, he began to commit seriously to painting. Fascinated by Hollywood’s exaggerated glitz and the downtrodden atmosphere of the downtown, Cottingham saw in Los Angeles the relics of a bygone commercial heyday and desired to capture its kitschy and uncanny atmosphere, bathed in the near perpetual sunlight of Southern California.
In 1968, Cottingham ended his advertising career in order to devote all his time to painting. In the late 1960s, he started using photography in his practice, first as an initial reference point for his process. After selecting a photograph, he translates it into black-and-white drawings by projecting the image onto gridded paper, as a means of perfecting the tonal range between light and shadow. One reason for Cottingham’s rejection of the Photorealist label is that he does not view his works as mere painterly translations of photographs or reproductions of reality. He has been known to change the words in his facades to alter the meaning of the subject. His primary interest lies in the subject matter—the urban American vernacular—rather than the deployment of a photo-based technique. After spending a period of time in London from 1972 to 1976, Cottingham found the city’s signs and history too foreign and removed from his own interests, and returned to the United States to settle in rural Connecticut. During the late 1970s and 1980s, his urban cityscapes became more expansive, with more complex and broader views of storefronts, vistas, and entire neighborhoods.
Cottingham taught at the Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles (1969–70), and the National Academy of Design, New York (1991). He was the artist in residence at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut (1987–92). His work has been included in significant group exhibitions.
© 2018. All images are copyrighted © by Robert Cottingham. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.
In 1964, Cottingham relocated to Los Angeles for work. There, inspired by the drastically different environment of the West Coast metropolis, he began to commit seriously to painting. Fascinated by Hollywood’s exaggerated glitz and the downtrodden atmosphere of the downtown, Cottingham saw in Los Angeles the relics of a bygone commercial heyday and desired to capture its kitschy and uncanny atmosphere, bathed in the near perpetual sunlight of Southern California.
In 1968, Cottingham ended his advertising career in order to devote all his time to painting. In the late 1960s, he started using photography in his practice, first as an initial reference point for his process. After selecting a photograph, he translates it into black-and-white drawings by projecting the image onto gridded paper, as a means of perfecting the tonal range between light and shadow. One reason for Cottingham’s rejection of the Photorealist label is that he does not view his works as mere painterly translations of photographs or reproductions of reality. He has been known to change the words in his facades to alter the meaning of the subject. His primary interest lies in the subject matter—the urban American vernacular—rather than the deployment of a photo-based technique. After spending a period of time in London from 1972 to 1976, Cottingham found the city’s signs and history too foreign and removed from his own interests, and returned to the United States to settle in rural Connecticut. During the late 1970s and 1980s, his urban cityscapes became more expansive, with more complex and broader views of storefronts, vistas, and entire neighborhoods.
Cottingham taught at the Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles (1969–70), and the National Academy of Design, New York (1991). He was the artist in residence at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut (1987–92). His work has been included in significant group exhibitions.
© 2018. All images are copyrighted © by Robert Cottingham. The use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.
 |
| Mr Robert Cottingham |
 |
| 1968, House with Awnings |
 |
| 1968, Ralph's II |
 |
| 1972, Me |
 |
| 1973, Fox |
 |
| 1974, El Toro |
 |
| 1976, Keystone Photo |
 |
| 1977 ,Carl's |
 |
| 1979, The Spot |
 |
| 1980, Black Girl, |
 |
| 1980, Frankfurters-Hamburgers |
 |
| 1980, Keen Kottons |
 |
| 1983, Ral's |
 |
| 1984, Candy |
 |
| 1984, One Way |
 |
| 1985, Rialto (lithograph) |
 |
| 1985, Wichita |
 |
| 1988, Santa Fe |
 |
| 1989, Barber Shop |
 |
| 1991, Dont walk |
 |
| 1991, Taft |
 |
| 1993, Radio City Deli |
 |
| 1996, Bud (lithograph) |
 |
| 2002, Women-Girls |
 |
| 2004, Lynn's Portable |
 |
| 2009, Art American signs |
 |
| 2009, Blues |
 |
| 2009, Boulevard_Drinks |
 |
| 2009, Champagne American Signs Suite |
 |
| 2009, Empire |
 |
| 2009, Hot |
 |
| 2009, Nite |
 |
| 2009, Southern.Star |
 |
| 2013 Roberts Jewelers |
 |
| 2013, Oasis |
 |
| 2014, Joy Theatre |
 |
| 2015 Corona |
 |
| An American Alphabet A |
 |
| An American Alphabet B |
 |
| An American Alphabet C |
 |
| An American Alphabet D |
 |
| An American Alphabet E |
 |
| An American Alphabet F |
 |
| An American Alphabet G |
 |
| An American Alphabet H |
 |
| An American Alphabet I |
 |
| An American Alphabet J |
 |
| An American Alphabet K |
 |
| An American Alphabet L |
 |
| An American Alphabet M |
 |
| An American Alphabet N |
 |
| An American Alphabet O |
 |
| An American Alphabet P |
 |
| An American Alphabet Q |
 |
| An American Alphabet R |
 |
| An American Alphabet S |
 |
| An American Alphabet T |
 |
| An American Alphabet U |
 |
| An American Alphabet V |
 |
| An American Alphabet W |
 |
| An American Alphabet X |
 |
| An American Alphabet Y |
 |
| An American Alphabet Z |
I love this artist, every single one of them, a such special part of america that should be preserved forever, amazing colors, this is the only one, that I have loved every single thing done. National treasures, hits me maybe because I am a colorist.
ReplyDelete