David Cox: The Mill (1853)

When The Higgins Bedford reopens on Tuesday 18th May, visitors will once again be able to enjoy our current weather exhibition, Under the Same Sky, featuring works by the finest landscape artists in British art history. One of these artists is David Cox (1783-1859), whose pioneering blend of Romanticism and Impressionism results in such charming watercolour scenes as The Mill (1853).

Born in Birmingham in 1783 to a blacksmith father, he was considered too weak for manual work, and so helped out by decorating its products. After a childhood of artisanal painting and some formal drawing education, he moved to London aged 20 to work as a scene painter but gave up after very little success. 

David Cox, The Mill, 1853 © Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery (The Higgins Bedford)

A 24-year-old Cox then decided to spend the rest of his working life as a teacher, and was extremely popular as one. He published his Treatise on Landscape Painting and Effect in Water Colours in 1813 due to high demand, and was often praised for his kind, honest character and willingness to help beyond his professional obligation. Meanwhile, he tried to establish himself as an eminent artist by exhibiting his work at the Society of Watercolour Artists. However, he was hindered by his dogged belief in his unconventional style; despite a close social circle that supported him throughout his career, he sold very few paintings. 

Most of his rivals painted in a style that appealed to a public who, according to biographer N. Neal Solly, ‘frequently disliked what was not smooth and highly finished’. Cox, however, despised ‘mere portraits of places’. He championed emotional effect over faithfulness to real-life, as is evident in The Mill.  According to the Dictionary of National Biography, he used ‘few colours and a full brush, disregarding small details in order to greater breadth and brilliancy of effect’. The soft, dream-like qualities can be attributed to his tendency to paint from memory. He disliked directly copying from nature or other artworks, advising in his Treatise that ‘the picture should be complete and perfect in the mind before it is even traced upon the canvas’. 

Cox felt that his best works were painted on a cheap wrapping paper known as Scotch paper. Its roughness allows it to absorb more colour than most surfaces, but leaves little black specks. When asked how he tackled this problem, Cox said ‘Oh, I just put wings on them, and then they fly away as birds’.  

Despite his lack of recognition among his contemporaries, history remembers David Cox favourably. Many consider his style, with its short brush strokes and loose forms, a precursor to the famous Impressionism movement. 

It is no coincidence that his works were fetching enormous sums at auction in the 1870s, a decade that saw the rise of Impressionists such as Claude Monet. From then on, Cox has been considered one of British art’s greatest figures, described by biographer William Hall as ‘second only to Turner… and in some respects, not even second to him.’

See The Mill by David Cox in the Under the Same Sky exhibition when The Higgins Bedford reopens on Tuesday 18 May. Safety measures are in place and you will need to book a FREE timed entry ticket to visit.

Written by Tom MacKinnon, Curatorial Volunteer

Bibliography:

Cox, D., Treatise on Landscape Painting and Effect in Water Colours, (London, 1813)

Hall, W., A Biography of David Cox: with remarks on his works and genius, (Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.: London, Paris & New York, 1881)

Stephen, L., National Dictionary of Biography: Vol, XII: Conder-Craigie, (New York Macmillan & co., 1885)

Solly, N. N., Memoir of the life of David Cox, (Chapman and Hall, 1873)