Astley David Middleton Cooper

Astley David Middleton Cooper was a nationally recognized American artist celebrated for his dramatic paintings of the “vanishing West,” particularly Native American life and buffalo. Grand-nephew of explorer William Clark, he studied art at Washington University before traveling west in his twenties, living with and earning the respect of various Native American tribes.
Cooper worked as an illustrator for Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper before settling in San Francisco and eventually San Jose, California, in 1883. He became known for his bohemian lifestyle, paying off bar debts with paintings of nudes, and building an elaborate Egyptian-style studio. His work, which included landscapes, portraits (including one of Ulysses S. Grant), and allegories, achieved high prices in the New York and European markets during his lifetime. He died in 1924 after a long battle with tuberculosis.