Josephine Granger Cochrane was born in the township of Enfield Connecticut in 1861. Although Enfield was noted for its rustic beauty; it was also home to The Hazard Company’s black powder factories. The gun powder produced in Enfield was responsible for the rumbling of artillery throughout the struggling campaigns of The Civil War. When the war came to an end on April 22,1865, the inhabitants of the region slowly regained their calm..
Josephine Granger was raised in conventional Victorian ways. Many years had passed after the war. She satisfied the educational requirements of the times. It is possible that her aptitude for art was acknowledged and encouraged by her teachers. She probably had opportunity to attend many schools, however she chose a course of action that resulted in booking passage on a ship that set sail to cross the Atlantic Ocean. This gave her an opportunity to move away from her adolescent years and help her to mature, thus facilitating her attempts to express her individuality as an artist.
Upon arriving in Paris, she enrolled at The Academie Julian. The school attracted many American and French artists for its somewhat Bohemian atmosphere. A number of graduates achieved world fame. This uniquely conceived school was open to any one who could pay the tuition. It appears that this youthful candidate received more than adequate preparation from the curriculum. Her work in oils was considered by the juries to be accomplished. She was acknowledged by some of the most prestigious cultural organizations. She was part of a new generation of woman artists, who were competent and could compete with their male counterparts.
The majority of her art works depicted still lives or landscapes. While abroad, she painted the Dutch Lowlands, as shown in the example of the Black Windmill; she also depicted red roofed houses nestled along the noteworthy canals in Amsterdam,
Her paintings are often signed using the first two initials, her last name follows (J.G. Cochrane). Although considered a Connecticut artist, Fielding’s lists the artist as living at a Baltimore address in 1949.
She was a member of the National Association of Women Artists and the Society of Independent Artists.
Cochrane exhibited at the Chicago 1893 Columbian Exhibition. National Academy of Design, Society of Independent Artists, and National Society of Woman Artists’.
After a long career in the fine arts she died in Preston Connecticut. at the age of ninety two in 1953
Glen B Opitz Mantel Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors
Peter Hastings Falk (Editor). Who Was Who in American Art
Written and compiled by Jim Kieley, researcher of Woodbury, Connecticut