Abraham Cooper came from London and was renowned for his sporting and historical-battle paintings. He was mostly self taught except for a few lessons from Benjamin Marshall. At an early age he began to paint horses, in which he became very proficient. At thirteen Cooper was employed by his uncle at Astley's Circus, which is where his love of horses stemmed from, and he made numerous studies. In 1805, Sir Henry Meux bought a study of a horse by Cooper and from then on he became Cooper's patron. Cooper's picture Battle of Waterloo was purchased by the Duke of Marlbrough from the British Institution in 1816, and in 1817 he was elected ARA for his painting The Battle of Marston Moor, which was his first exhibited picture. As a painter of battle pieces he stands pre-eminent - holding an analogous position to Peter Hess in Germany and Horace Vernet in France. He also painted many of the celebrated racehorses of the day. John Frederick Herring senior was one of Cooper's pupils, and their painting of horses is very similar. In the British Museum print room there is a folio volume containing many engravings after Cooper.