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Notes

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The sitter was born in the West Indies, the son of the Reverend John Cowan. Educated at the Edinburgh Institution and the University of Edinburgh, he became Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for the county of the city of Edinburgh. An iron and steel merchant, Sir John joined the Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh in 1876 and was elected Treasurer in November 1900. The Master at that time was John Macmillan and on 8th January 1901 whilst chairing a dinner in the Merchants’ Hall he collapsed and died. The previous Master, Robert Weir, assumed the Mastership again until John Cowan could rightfully be elected as Master, a role he fulfilled from 1901 to 1903.

The Merchant's Hall, The Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Title

Sir John Cowan (1844–1929)

Date

1915

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 127 x W 100 cm

Accession number

K840

Acquisition method

presented

Work type

Painting

The Merchant's Hall, The Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh

The Merchant's Hall, 22 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH2 2EP Scotland

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Artist or maker

Arthur Trevethin Nowell

1862–1940

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Michael Gutteridge Wesley House, University of Cambridge
Edwin Rayner, Governor (1880–1921) Stockport Heritage Services
Dr Murray (d.1931) Stockport Heritage Services
Arthur Samuel Peake (1865–1929), Chair of Biblical Exegesis (1904–1929) John Rylands Research Institute and Library
Mrs Wiseman (1834–1912) Oxford Brookes University, Harcourt Hill
J. I. Thornycroft (1843–1928) Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Mr James Bailey Southlands College
15 more