Frederick Simpson Coburn

F. S. Coburn D.C.L. (March18, 1871 May26, 1960), also known as Frederick Simpson Coburn, was a Canadian painter, illustrator and a photographer of note.

Career Coburn was born in the village of Upper Melbourne in Quebec's Eastern Townships, southeast of Montreal.

Coburn illustrated Louis Fréchette's Christmas in French Canada (1899), followed by the French edition, La Noël au Canada (1900). He later collaborated with G.P. Putnam Company of New York, and illustrated books by authors such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and others. He also illustrated magazine articles and covers.

In the early 1900s, Coburn painted still lifes of flowers, portraits, and spring and summer landscapes of the Eastern Townships which were dark in tone. In 1913, he returned to live in Canada after years spent living in Antwerp. In 1914, sketching trips with Maurice Cullen changed the coloration and subject-matter of his work. He began painting oils in full colour and with a study of the effects of light.

After his wife's death in 1933, he was inspired by a model named Carlotta and painted her in the dance costumes she created for her performances of the Tango and other dances. Coburn also learned how to dance, and together with Carlotta and her dance partner, Alvarez, he established a dance studio in Montreal. On May 26, 1960, Frederick Simpson Coburn died peacefully in his Melbourne studio at 89 years of age.

Personal life In Antwerp the met his future wife, the Belgian artist, Malvina Scheepers. Together, they established a studio-home in Coburn's village of Upper Melbourne, Quebec and a pied-à-terre in Montreal.