Background
William Brown Cooper was born in 1811 near Carthage in Smith County, Tennessee.
William Brown Cooper was born in 1811 near Carthage in Smith County, Tennessee.
He was educated at the National Academy Museum and School in New York City as well as in Paris and Rome for three years.
Back in the United States, he started his career as a painter, and was active in Washington, District of Columbia, Saint Louis, Chicago, New Orleans, Little Rock, Arkansas, Natchez, Mississippi and Tennessee. In 1853, he painted a painting entitled Out of State. He had a studio in Memphis, Tennessee for fifteen years.
Later, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee.
Eventually, he settled in Chattanooga in 1885. However, one clue to distinguish their paintings is that he painted more portraits of children, and was more opulent in his choice of colors and painting material.
His portrait, painted by Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (1823–1909), is owned by Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Death
He died in 1900 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.