Robert Cottingham

1935–

Introduction

Robert Cottingham (born 26 September 1935 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American artist known for his paintings and prints of urban American landscapes, showing building facades, neon signs, movie marquees, railroad heralds, and shop fronts.

Cottingham is usually classified as a photorealist. He characterizes his paintings as belonging to a tradition of American vernacular scenes painted by Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Edward Hopper, and Charles Sheeler. Cottingham was influenced by his background in advertising and typography, and consequently connects his work to Pop art.

Cottingham turned to painting full-time after his first successful solo exhibitions in 1968. He began showing at the OK Harris Gallery in New York in 1971. In 1974, he was awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts. Cottingham is a two-time recipient of fellowships from MacDowell.

In 1990, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician, and became a full Academician in 1994. A retrospective of Cottingham's prints took place at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1999.

Wikidata identifier

Q1355414

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Introduction

Born 26 September 1935. Education: Pratt Institute, New York, 1959-1963, AA [Academy of Art of Art Association], 1962. Teaching: Instructor, Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, 1969-1970. Artist-in-residence: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 1987-1992, National Academy of Design, New York, 1991, Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Colorado Spring, Colorado, 1994.

Roles

Artist, painter

ULAN identifier

500002290

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed September 3, 2025.

Not on view

First acquired
1977

Date of birth
September 26, 1935

API
artists/296


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