Orton Copson. Oil on board, 12 by 17 3/4 inches.
Ortan Copson was an English artist who made his home in the St. Petersburg subdivision of Pasadena in the 1920’s. Copson was an accomplished artist who trained in England, Holland and Germany. He worked as a decorator of Royal Worcester porcelain and other famous potteries including Minton and Doulton. In London Copson was employed as an artist for Queen Victoria’s publisher, Raphael Tuck and Sons. He came to the United States and Grand Rapids, Michigan in the 1890’s, to work as a furniture decorator for the Oriel Cabinet Company, doing paint decorations in the Louis XV style. In Florida Copson continued as a pottery decorator, first working for Mary Ward at the Manatee River Pottery in Bradenton, and later for Henry Graack. In St. Petersburg, Copson worked for Joseph Kohler owner of the Kohler Florida Pottery, doing decorative work on lamp bases and vases and well as a tile decorator for the Crescent Tile Company on Second Street south and Seventh Avenue.
His hand painted tiles can be found in many Spanish or Moorish styled homes in St. Petersburg including homes in Granada Terrace, N.F. Stone’s home in the Jungle, Perry Snell’s home on Coffee Pot Bayou, and the John McCutcheon home in Pasadena. A review of an exhibit of Art Club of St. Petersburg artists in the St. Petersburg Times, June 3, 1928 notes: “Octar Copson, English artist, who has made his home in St. Petersburg for the past few years, is a new exhibitor with the local gallery, although he has been a member of the Art Club for some time. Mr. Copson’s work displays decided English style and tradition, although many of his subjects are Floridian. One of the most delightful of his eight pictures entered is a slight sketch in oil made of the curving beach at Pass-a-Grille. The technique of this picture and its resulting effect is very interesting since it is what may be termed a watercolor in oil. Mr. Copson is also showing two landscapes of northern California, a study of a blue heron, and several still life studies.”
Directory: Listed in the St. Petersburg City Directory 1930, 1933 as a portrait artist with studio at 7218 5th Avenue North.
