Landscape painter of mainly North Wales subjects, Cole was born in Liverpool, son of James Cole (d.1874), himself born in Denbighshire, Wales. At some point there was a move to Manchester where Cole had lifelong connections, attended the School of Design for about a year and then worked for Dominic Bolongaro & Co (fl.1805–1892), an Italian-emigré picture and furniture dealer and restorer in Market Street. He left Bolongaro, to the latter’s repeated regret, in around 1855 to practise as a landscape artist based initially at Bettws-y-Coed, where he met a circle of visiting artists including Frank Holl, Benjamin Williams Leader, Francis William Topham and others. On 19th February 1867 Cole married Keturah Smith (b.Sheffield, 1838) at St Mary’s, Hulme, Manchester, and their first child, Lucy Mary Bolongaro Cole, was born at Bettwys on 25th February 1868. In 1869 the family moved to ‘Bryn Eglwys’ – literally ‘Church Hill’ but usually called Church House – at Llanbedr-y-Cennin in the Conwy valley (Caernarfon), on the Gough estate not far from Bettwys. This was previously the Bull Inn, in which David Cox had stayed when working at Llanbedr: the inn had just before moved to another building close by and Church House remained Cole’s home for the rest of his life. His two sons also became artists; Henry Smith Cole (1869–1946) was born at Bettwys-y-Coed on 14th February and Joseph Haughton Chisholm Cole (1871–1902) at Llanbedr in April. A second daughter, Winifred Thirza M. Cole (1877–1967), was born at Chorlton, on the outskirts of Manchester, on 3rd August.
Cole was an early instance of several artists from north-west England – especially Manchester and Liverpool – who settled and worked in North Wales. The trend began at Bettws from the 1850s and, after that became popular with arrival of the railway, moved down the valley to Trefriw and the two close villages of Llanbedr and Tal-y-Bont, forming an artists’ colony that lasted until the First World War. Cole was the only one resident in Llanbedr at the 1871 census but there were five by 1881 and 17 in 1891.
In 1883 Charles Potter of Oldham led in founding the Tal-y-Bont Artists’ Club, of which he was also first President, and in raising funds to build its 1886 clubhouse/studio at Llanbedr (today converted as a private house). Cole was a contributor and one of the committee for its first spring exhibition in 1886, and succeeded Potter as its President for 1887. Other 1886 exhibitors were ‘J. Chisholm’ of Llanbedr, who was probably his younger son, and his future son-in-law, George Cockram (1861–1950) who was born in Birkenhead. As Chisholm Cole the former also showed six works at the RA from 1892 to 1899, and Cockram 36 between 1883 and 1924. In 1881 the Llanbedr artist colony was very influential in the formation of the Royal Cambrian Academy, housed from 1886 at Plas Mawr, Conwy, and Cole showed 69 works there overall, starting as an exhibiting Associate from 1885, in their third exhibition. He became a full member in 1889, a member of its Council in 1890 and was on the hanging committee for its 1893 exhibition: his son Chisholm became an Associate in 1892 and full member in 1900.
Cole died on 20th October 1895, aged 67, in the Royal Infirmary, Manchester, following an operation for a longstanding internal complaint, and was buried at Llanbedr. The Artist and Journal of Home Culture (vols 17 and 18) noted that ‘Room 8’ of the watercolour display in the 1896 Manchester Art Gallery exhibition was devoted to a collection of his works. The Royal Cambrian Academy also devoted a room to them in its annual exhibition for 1896, with others continuing to appear there in subsequent years. Although Cole and his wife had married in the Church of England, his son Chisholm was apparently Roman Catholic by the time he committed suicide owing to ‘temporary insanity’ in 1902. His sister Lucy also seems to have been Catholic by the time she married George Cockram on 8th May 1890 at the Chapel of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Llandudno. Both on that occasion gave their address as ‘Church House, Llanbedr’ and Cockram’s Catholicism followed that of his mother (Emma O’Keefe) though his parents had also married in the Church of England. Cole’s widow died at Rhosneigr, Anglesey, on 21st August 1921.
Summarised from Art UK's Art Detective discussion 'Could anyone give us more information about the artist J. H. Cole?’
Text source: Art Detective
