Jack Coggins is a painter who is known in the United States for his oil paintings of predominantly marine subjects.

Jack Banham Coggins was born in London on 10th July 1911, the only son of Sidney George Coggins, the Riding Master of the First Regiment of Lifeguards.  When his father was retrenched, the family migrated to the United States in 1923.  After studying at the Grand Central School of Art and the Art Students League in New York, Jack devoted much of his time to marine painting both in oil and watercolour, and gained some work illustrating magazines.

During World War II, he served as a U.S. Army artist correspondent for Yank magazine in Europe and was with the U.S. ground forces during and after D Day.  Many of his war illustrations appeared in Life and Saturday Evening Post.  He also executed commissions for the Army and Navy, and illustrated many wartime commercial advertisements.
 
After the war in the 1950s, Jack executed covers for science-fiction magazines, most notably Galaxy and Fantasy & Science Fiction.  In 1951 and 1952, he collaborated with Fletcher Pratt on two classic books - Rockets, Jets Guided Missiles and Space Ships, and By Space Ship to the Moon (both published by Random House).  The books were released amidst a great wave of interest in space travel, which swept the country in the 1950s.  The two books made the prospect of space exploration seem a very practical possibility, and there are many space scientists today who retain fond memories of the influence these books had on their careers.

During the sixties Jack wrote and illustrated numerous books about the American Revolution, Navigation, Signalling, Vikings, Submarines, and many more marine, military and historical themes.  In 1966 he wrote and illustrated The Horseman's Bible, which has sold at least half a million copies.  A revised edition was published in 1984.  He acknowledges his father's 25 years in the cavalry and lifetime interest in horses for his equine knowledge.

Jack Coggins has produced well in excess of 500 oil and water colour paintings during his career - they are displayed in numerous galleries and owned by the Philadelphia Maritime Museum, the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coastguard, and other institutions and companies.  His original manuscripts and illustrations are part of the University of Mississippi's Permanent Collection of outstanding authors and artists.  He has been a member of the American Ordnance Association, the U.S. Naval Institute, and advisor to the board of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum.

Jack Coggins has had wide teaching experience, with five years on the faculty of Hunter College.  He recently retired from active teaching and now lives with his wife Alma Woods, at his farm "Crestfield" near Boyertown in  Pennsylvania.

This biography from the Archives of AskART:

The following text, submitted by David Coggins, son of the artist, is the obituary of the artist published in the Reading Eagle, Berks County, Pennsylvania, February 2006. 

Jack B. Coggins, author-illustrator

Jack Banham Coggins, well-known Berks author-illustrator, died Jan. 31 in his residence near Hill Church in Pike Township.

Coggins, 94, was the husband of Alma (Woods) Coggins.

The author of 18 illustrated books, he first specialized in marine painting.  After collaborating on several books during the 1940s and 1950s, Coggins began his own projects in the 1960s.
During World War II, he did many art illustrations for Life and produced commercial art.  He served as an Army correspondent in Europe from 1943 until the end of the war.

Starting in the early 1950s, Coggins painted a number of science fiction magazine covers for Galaxy and Fantasy & Science Fiction.  He specialized in paintings of spaceships and astronomical art.  He also worked with Fletcher Pratt on several books about space travel.
After his science fiction work, he wrote and illustrated numerous books on military and naval history.

The author of 18 illustrated books, Coggins took up permanent residency in Berks County in 1953.

A strictly classical artist, he said in a 2001 interview he had changed neither his painting nor his teaching styles significantly over the years.

Several of his paintings are owned by the Philadelphia Maritime Museum and the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

His original manuscripts and illustrations were collected by the University of Southern Mississippi for their permanent collection of outstanding authors and artists.

In 1985, Coggins received the Americanism Award from the Daniel Boone National Foundation.  He also received the Purchase Award from the Mystic Maritime Gallery in 1989.
He received the Rudolph Shaeffer Award in the Internatinal Maritime Exhibition from 1987 to 1990 and the Pagoda Award from the Berks Arts Council in 1995.  Coggins also received the Revolutionary Round Table Award and the International Association of Astronomical Artists Award.

Born in London, England, he was a son of the late Sidney G. and Ethel May (Dobby) Coggins.
He was a faculty member at Hunter College, New York City, from 1948 to 1953 and an instructor of the master classes for 45 years at the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts until May 2001.

Coggins studied at the Grand Central School of Art from 1931 to 1933 and the Art Students League from 1933 to 1934, both of New York City.

He was an advisory member of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum and Reading Public Museum.

Coggins came to America as a boy and moved to Roslyn, N.Y., in 1923. He became a citizen in 1943.

He was an Army veteran of World War II.

This biography from the Archives of AskART:

First, excerpts from The Reading Eagle, article written by free-lance writer Carole Simpson:

"I've enjoyed my life as an artist," Jack Coggins said when he retired in May 2001 after 45 years of teaching master classes at The Institute of the Arts in Wyomissing, PA.

Today, the 92-year-old classical artist remains best known for his portraits, seascapes and still life.

Coggins was born in London where his father was a riding master in the King's First Life Guards.  The family moved to the US after WWI. Jack graduated from Roslyn High School in Long Island and attended the Grand Central Station School located in Grand Central Station in NYC.

He started his career as a commercial illustrator for magazines and his work appeared on the covers of several yachting magazines.  His sketches of pre-World War II battleships appeared on the cover of Life magazine.  Then, he served as Yank magazine correspondent for the Army during the war.  He also taught at Hunter College.

Jack and his wife, Alma, were married 56 years and both worked in NYC where Coggins had a studio and made a career out of painting and selling his art.  They met at the Illustrators Club in Manhattan where Alma modeled.

Since losing an eye to illness, Jack no longer puts brush to canvas.  But after all the years he devoted to painting deadlines, teaching and writing, Jack says he's content with retirement.

Second, The Institute of the Arts in Wyomissing, PA newsletter from Fall 2001:

During a long and distinguished career, Jack's work has been exhibited extensively and has been collected by many venerable institutions.  His paintings are in the collections of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum, the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute, the Reading (PA) Museum, The Brown University Museum, The US Navy and The US Coast Guard.

He is an elected artist member of the Pastel Society of America and the American Society of Marine Painters.  He is also a member of the Berks Art Alliance, the Art Alliance of Harrisburg and the Chester County Art Association.