Cooper, Douglas

Cooper, Douglas (b London, 20 Feb. 1911; d London, 1 Apr. 1984). British art historian and collector. He lived in France for much of his life and was severely critical of the British for what he regarded as their failure to appreciate or patronize modern art. His main interest was Cubism, and in 1932 he decided to devote part of his inheritance to forming a collection of its four leading exponents—Picasso, Braque, Gris, and Léger—in its greatest period, 1907–14. He later added works by other artists, but the Cubists remained the core. In the Second World War he worked in intelligence and helped to identify, protect, and repatriate works of art. Picasso was later a neighbour and visitor in southern France, but their friendship turned to hostility. Cooper, indeed, had a notoriously difficult temperament and enjoyed controversy; in the 1950s he became particularly well known for his attacks on the Tate Gallery and its director Sir John Rothenstein. He was a formidable scholar and published substantial books on all four major Cubists.