Editing John Sell Cotman (section)

===Early years===
[[File:John Sell Cotman - House at St Stephen's Road, Norwich.png|thumb|''House at St Stephen's Road, Norwich'' (1794), [[British Museum]], considered to be the earliest surviving work by Cotman]]
John Sell Cotman was born in [[Norwich]], on 16 May 1782,{{sfn|Moore|1985|p=67}} the eldest child of Edmund Cotman and his wife Ann (née Sell) living at 26 Bridge Street, in [[St George's Church, Colegate, Norwich|St George's parish]]. Edmund Cotman was a hairdresser who later became a silk merchant and a lace dealer.{{sfn|Hill|2005|p=3}}{{sfn|Rajnai|1982|p=30}} Their son was [[baptised]] at St. Mary Coslany, Norwich, on 7 June 1782.{{sfn|Rajnai|1982|p=30}} The family name was written as ''Cottman'' in the parish baptism record, which has survived.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The young Cotman was educated at [[Norwich School|Norwich Grammar School]], and is recorded as starting there as a non-paying pupil on 3 August 1793.{{sfn|Rajnai|1982|p=30}} He showed a talent for art from an early age and would often go out on drawing trips into the countryside around Norwich and the [[North Norfolk]] coast.{{sfn|Binyon|1897|p=49}}{{sfn|Dickes|1905|p=248}} A story survives that the boy's headmaster, Dr Samuel Forster, disliked cats. When Forster saw a large realistic-looking cardboard cat on his desk, he held the silhouette up, saying, "I know who is the only boy who could have drawn this." {{sfn|Hill|2005|p=3}}

Edmund Cotman intended his son to follow into the family business, but the boy was instead intent on a career in art. When asked for his advice, the artist [[John Opie]] replied to Cotman's father, "Let him rather black boots than follow the profession of an artist."{{sfn|Dickes|1905|p=248}} A drawing from this period, ''House at St Stephen's Road, Norwich'' (1794), is considered to be the earliest surviving work by Cotman, sketched when he was 12.<ref name="BriDra">{{cite web |title=Drawing (House at St Stephen's Road, Norwich) |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1999-0424-5 |publisher=[[British Museum]] |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>