Frederick Simpson Coburn

1871 - 1960

Quebec native Frederick S. Coburn made a respectable living as an illustrator in Antwerp from 1890 until the outbreak of WWI. Although based in Antwerp during this time, he unfailingly vacationed in Canada and spent several summers in the late 1890s with Maurice Cullen on the Beaupré Coast. It was Cullen who encouraged Coburn to relieve himself of a lucrative career as an illustrator in order to pursue painting full time. Unlike the Group of Seven’s deserted landscapes, Coburn was captivated by human activity and presence in nature.