Edith Varian Cockcroft (1881-1962)

Edith Varian Cockcroft was a woman of many talents, who first found success in painting before pursuing a second rewarding career in the textile industry and later applying her creativity to the world of ceramics. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Allendale, New Jersey, Cockcroft studied briefly with William Merritt Chase before going abroad to Paris in 1898, where she befriended Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and Pierre Auguste Renoir, all three of whom would influence the direction of her work.

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By 1908, Cockcroft was dividing her time between Europe and New York City, and occasionally ventured to sites in New England, including Maine and Provincetown, in search of subject matter. Whether painting harbor scenes, still lifes, nudes, or figural compositions of American and European towns, Cockcroft’s bold palette and dynamic painting style, as well as her choice to sign without using her first name, sometimes led critics to assume her work was created by a man. Around 1914, Cockcroft was married to Charles Weyand, and the two resided in a midtown Manhattan apartment for several years before misfortune hit and his business failed, just prior to America’s involvement in World War I. Rather than return to her family while he worked to regain their footing, as Charles suggested, Cockcroft insisted on helping in their recovery and began experimenting with painting batik patterns on silk. Her efforts in this new endeavor were rewarded; her designs and garments came to be in high demand and soon numerous seamstresses and artists were in their employ. With Charles leading sales and marketing, Cockcroft was able to focus on the creative side, and in 1921 she envisioned and soon patented a process for printing patterns on silk for blouses and other garments, while retaining their hand-made appearance. This lucrative idea brought sizable royalties, allowing the artist to resume her love of travel and return to her individual artistic pursuits while Charles managed the affairs of their company.