Editing John Sell Cotman (section)

==Reputation and legacy==
Cotman and Crome were the two finest of the Norwich School of painters, who were both recognised by the public during their lives, with Cotman's ''Architectural Antiquities of Normandy'' bringing him wider praise.{{sfn|Moore|1985|p=9}}  The architect [[Augustus Pugin]], in his ''Specimens of Gothic Architecture'' (1823), mixed praise and criticism <blockquote>[the plates] are drawn and etched in a masterly style, but with a good deal of ''management'', by which the subjects appear, in several instances, of grander character than really belongs to them...In some Plates also, the human figures are evidently below the size of life, and so exaggerate the size of the buildings they are placed against.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=sDlIAQAAIAAJ Vol. 2, p. xv]</ref></blockquote>

The [[art historian]] Andrew Moore, describes the artists as "two of the most original talents in the history of early nineteenth century British art", and that they were rivalled only by Turner, Girtin, and the English artist [[John Constable]].{{sfn|Moore|1985|p=9}} The 1887 edition of the ''[[Dictionary of National Biography]]'' noted that Cotman's reputation had improved over time, and described him as "one of the most original and versatile of English artists of the first half of this century, a draughtsman and colourist of exceptional gifts, a water-colourist worthy to be ranked among the greater men, and excellent whether as a painter of land or sea".{{sfn|Stephen|1887}}

In 1888 the Norwich Art Circle showed 100 of Cotman's works at Norwich, the first time his collected works had been exhibited. This event led to a critical appraisal of his output and secured a second exhibition that year at the [[Burlington Fine Arts Club]].{{sfn|Kitson|1937|p=371}}{{sfn|Cundall|1920|pp=22{{ndash}}23}}

The art historians [[Lawrence Binyon]] and [[William Dickes]] both wrote extensively about Cotman's oil paintings and watercolours. Cotman's oils were first exhibited when they were shown at the [[Tate Britain|Tate Gallery, London]] in 1922.{{sfn|Kitson|1937|pp=372}} According to his biographer Sydney Kitson, Cotman's reputation was enhanced by ''The Water-Colour Drawings of John Sell Cotman'' by [[Paul Oppé]], which appeared in a special edition of ''The Studio'' in 1923.{{sfn|Kitson|1937|pp=372{{ndash}}373}}

Cotman's reputation has been hidden by misinformation, and by works that were misattributed.{{sfn|Moore|1985|p=9}} Among his pupils, the most notable were Thirtle and his own sons.{{sfn|Moore|1985|p=67}}