William F. Cogswell

William F. Cogswell (July 15, 1819 – December 24, 1903) was an American portrait painter, and printmaker.

Biography Sources vary on William F. Cogswell's date of birth, either July 15, 1819 or July 19, 1819; and his place of birth which was either in Fabius, New York, or in Sandusky, New York. His gravestone uses the birth date of July 15, 1819. Cogswell was of English ancestry, with his relatives arriving to Massachusetts in 1633. Cogswell travelled to California in 1849, during the California Gold Rush in order to create sketches. In 1880, Cogswell purchased the Sierra Madre Villa in Sierra Madre, California, a resort and health spa.

Legacy Cogswell is most noted for his portraits of Ulysses S. Grant, currently hanging in the United States Senate, and Abraham Lincoln, which hangs in the White House. He also painted Hawaiian royalty, including King Kalākaua, Princess Liliuokalani, Queen Emma, King Kamehameha IV, and King Kamehameha V—the latter two from photographs.

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