Alexander Cooper

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Alexander Cooper (before 1609 - 1660) was an English miniature painter. He was the elder brother of Samuel Cooper. The date of his birth is not known, but he is believed to have been born in London.

He came to Sweden in 1646, and the Swedish documents declare that he was Jewish, and that his full name was Abraham Alexander Cooper. He had previously been residing in the United Provinces, but on reaching Sweden entered the service of Queen regnant Christina of Sweden, and continued to be her miniature painter until 1654, when she resigned the crown. Two years later, Cooper was in Denmark, carrying out some commissions for Christian IV of Denmark but in 1657 was back again in Stockholm, where he died in the early part of 1660.

His works are of great rarity, and the chief are a series representing Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth of Bohemia as well as their children. Including Charles I nester, Elector Palatine, Elisabeth of Bohemia, Princess Palatine, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern and Sophia of the Palatinate. By 1911 these portrets were in the possession of Wilhelm II of Germany. At the same time some very remarkable portraits were owned by Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and others were in the possession of Gustav V of Sweden and various Swedish galleries.

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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "Alexander Cooper", a publication now in the public domain.