Robert Cottingham

Robert Cottingham, born on September 26, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American artist renowned for his paintings and prints depicting urban American landscapes, with a focus on building facades, neon signs, movie marquees, railroad heralds, and shop fronts. Although frequently classified as a photorealist, Cottingham rejects this label, considering himself a realist painter working within the long tradition of American vernacular scenes, inspired by artists such as Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Edward Hopper, and Charles Sheeler. He studied art at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, earning a BFA in 1963. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1958, Cottingham began his career as an art director in advertising before relocating to Los Angeles in 1964. The vibrant metropolis of the West Coast deeply influenced his work, and in 1968 he left advertising to pursue painting full-time. His first solo exhibition was held in 1971 at the OK Harris Gallery in New York. Cottingham incorporates photography into his practice but often alters the text on the signs he depicts, changing their meaning and emphasizing the essence of Americana. Among his accolades, he was elected an Associate Academician of the National Academy of Design in 1990, becoming a full Academician in 1994. A retrospective of his work was presented at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1998. His art is held in major museum collections, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Art.