The Trust and its supporters
The mission, people and supporters of this new Trust formed November 2025 (Charity Number 1215959).
A new Arts Trust
for Canterbury
Welcome to the Sidney Cooper Arts Trust, established in 2025 to celebrate the legacy of Canterbury-born artist Thomas Sidney Cooper, who rose from poverty to become one of the foremost landscape artists of the Victorian period and a committed philanthropist in the city of his birth.
In 1868, Cooper founded the Sidney Cooper School of Art in the city centre to help young artists have the start in life that he did not, which he gifted to the city in 1882 and which continued as an art school on that site for over 100 years.
The Trust’s plans include working to secure the historic Sidney Cooper School of Art building, currently closed, as an arts centre and supporting projects that reflect Cooper’s legacy to the city.
About Sidney Cooper, the artist
From poverty to fame, this self-taught landscape painter was commissioned by Queen Victoria and counted Dickens as a friend
Activities of the Arts Trust
Our new book, blue plaque, talks and archive project
The Sidney Cooper building and art school
One of the first public art schools in the country, given to the city by Cooper in 1882, now awaiting a new lease of life.
FAQs about Sidney Cooper
Have a question about Sidney Cooper, his life, paintings or school? You may find an answer in our FAQs
We’d like to hear from you
Contact us for more information on the Trust or to give us your views on what you’d like to see in the re-opened Sidney Cooper building
