Last updated: 28 October 2026
Ellie Cotton is the London artist who drops characters of her own invention into famous scenes from art history, most recently a run of playful paintings of Saint Francis. Here you will find our take on her work, where to see Ellie Cotton now, how to buy a painting, and her small oil in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Ellie Cotton
Cotton borrows from art history and then makes it silly. Her 2024 debut solo show at General Assembly put Saint Francis and his monks on a giant chocolate cake, behind a TV camera and under a table with a toy plane. The figures are smooth, pastel and almost cartoonish. “The overwhelming smoothness is, I think, the point,” wrote Zarina Muhammad of The White Pube, who called the show “genuinely astounding”.
Her War Child piece, Light Box, is a small oil on plywood in the same spirit. A figure in a brown monk’s habit, with a pink tonsured head, kneels and leans right into an open cardboard box. The background is a warm, streaky yellow, so the whole scene seems to glow. As a result, the box looks less like packaging and more like a source of light.
She works up to big canvases through piles of drawings and studies, according to General Assembly. So a postcard-sized oil is a rare, affordable way to own a finished painting by her. She is also early in her career, with two solo shows so far.
Ellie Cotton: the essentials
- Born in Salisbury in 1996; lives and works in London, according to General Assembly.
- Studied for a BA in Fine Art at Falmouth University, graduating in 2019, then joined the Turps Off-Site Painting Programme in 2020 to 2021.
- Won the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Award and the Midas Award at Falmouth in 2018.
- First solo show, Gallery Paintings, at Luca’s Gallery, London, in 2023.
- Her Saint Francis series grew out of the National Gallery’s 2023 exhibition on the saint and a trip to Assisi that followed.
- Shows with General Assembly, the gallery behind the Royal Academy that gave her a debut solo show in 2024.
Where to see Ellie Cotton now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Light Box (2026), oil on plywood, 21 x 15 cm (8.3 x 5.9 in), lot page.
- Car Meet (group), Off Season, Margate, 2026.
- Vital (group), General Assembly, London, 7 January to 5 February 2025.
- A Study of Saint Francis (solo), General Assembly, London, 18 September to 7 October 2024.
How to buy an Ellie Cotton painting
There are no Ellie Cotton prints or editions on sale. Her paintings sell through her gallery, and one small oil is in a charity auction:
- Light Box, 2026: a small oil on plywood in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Paintings: through General Assembly, price on request.
Ellie Cotton FAQs
Which gallery shows Ellie Cotton?
General Assembly in London, which gave her a debut solo show in 2024.
Why does Ellie Cotton paint Saint Francis?
A visit to the National Gallery’s 2023 Saint Francis exhibition, and a trip to Assisi afterwards, set off the series.
Can I buy an Ellie Cotton print?
Not at the moment. There are no prints or editions; her paintings sell through General Assembly on request.
Where can I see her work in London?
Her War Child piece, Light Box, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
More from CoolCuration
- Louis Fratino at David Zwirner review: more tender, playful figurative painting.
- Great Art Explained: the art-history backstories painters like Cotton riff on.
- Freelands Painting Prize review: new painting worth seeing in London.
- Art on a Postcard: another charity art sale where small works by big names go for less.
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Main image: Ellie Cotton, Light Box, 2026 (detail). © Ellie Cotton, courtesy War Child. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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