Sketch of Thomas Cooper Gotch

This sketch is a portrait of Thomas Gotch by his lifelong friend and confidante, Jane Ross, whom he met at Heatherley’s Art School. They shared a passionate interest in literature, plays and books.

Thomas Cooper Gotch, also known as T. C. Gotch (1854-1931) was an English painter and book illustrator loosley associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. He studied in London, Antwerp and Paris before settling in Newley art colony in Cornwall where he set up Newly Industrial classes and Newly Art Gallery. In his lifetime Gotch was a recognised success enjoying considerable public acclaim. He was a regular exhibitor at London's Royal Academy and contributed to numerous other national and international exhibitions. His works are still regularly exhibited and are often the subject of academic studies.

Gotch over his artistic career modelled for other artist such as Elizabeth Forbes and Jane Ross. He called Jane his ‘sister confessor’ and she called him her ‘penitent’. They were extremely close, going on to study at the Slade together, and then Paris. There are definitely indications of a romance between them, which, if true, came to naught as Thomas married Caroline Burland Yates in 1881.