Historic Artwork from Malden Artist Darius Cobb is Featured in Ken Burns ‘American Revolution’ Series

Malden Public Library is Among Area Institutions Featuring Cobb’s Diverse Works

Special to The Advocate

Malden, MA – Paintings from local artist Darius Cobb (1834-1919) are among the artistic renderings of the events of the War of Independence that are featured in the new Ken Burns six-part series, The American Revolution.

In part one of the series, which premiered on Nov. 16, Cobb’s painting The Destruction of Tea in Boston Harbor, helps depict the events of Dec. 16, 1773, when Boston’s Sons of Liberty protested King George’s tax on tea by dumping over 300 cases of East India tea into Boston Harbor. Cobb, a twin who was born in Malden, painted several historically significant works, including The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Evacuation of Boston by the British, and Washington on Dorchester Heights. Cobb also painted society portraits, landscapes, religious themes and political paintings.

Historian Ed Cobb – the great-grandson of the artist – said Ken Burns’ documentary production company approached him in 2023. Ed, who is currently working on a book about Darius and twin brother Cyrus’ Civil War paintings and letters, provided the production team with more than 30 images and documents related to the Cobb brothers’ works.

Artwork by Darius and Cyrus can be seen throughout Boston, including Faneuil Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Malden Public Library (MPL), which displays more than a dozen Darius Cobb paintings, including The Uniform, Spring Blossoms, Owl’s Head, Maine Landscape, Christ Before Pilate, Portrait of Sylvanus Cobb Sr, as well as a Mount Desert Island Etching. The piece, Washington on Dorchester Heights, was displayed in the National Daughters of the American Revolution Building in Washington, D.C.

Though born after the actual events of America’s revolution, Darius Cobb lived at a time when the memories of the war with England were related directly by veterans who experienced the events as told in Burns’ documentary.

“We have a proud family legacy, with many within the Cobb family fighting in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars,” said Ed Cobb. “Darius expertly captured some of these important moments in history.”

Ed Cobb, who is a retired research associate at Cornell University, shared that “when deciding where to donate my great-grandfather’s artwork, I visited numerous museums and libraries. When I met with Dora [MPL’s director], she was so excited about the history and the art. I chose to donate to Malden over other libraries and museums because they were so passionate about my great-grandfather’s extraordinary artwork.

“Over the past seven years, I’ve donated over a dozen Darius Cobb paintings and etchings to the Malden Public Library, including portraits, landscapes, and historic works. One of the reasons that I donate paintings to Malden Public Library is because they have the funds from their Trust and private donors to restore these paintings, as needed. I know they’ll give these paintings the attention they deserve and the restoration they may need,” Ed Cobb continued.

“The Malden Public Library is honored to have numerous pieces from acclaimed artist Darius Cobb in our collection. The Library’s onsite art gallery features art from the 1600s through present day, and many of our featured artists – including Darius Cobb – were born in Malden. It’s our pleasure to showcase these local talents in our gallery, and we’re thrilled that a whole new audience can enjoy Darius Cobb’s artwork through this new Ken Burns series,” said Dora St. Martin, director of the Malden Public Library.

The Library’s art collection exists because of the generosity of its founder Elisha Converse and his wife, Mary, who created a special Trust to purchase and display art in the city. The collection is owned by the Malden Public Library’s Trust and overseen by their dedicated Board of Trustees. The gallery is free and open to the public.

Artist Darius Cobb was born in Malden in 1834, the son of abolitionist minister Sylvanus Cobb. Sylvanus and his wife, Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, had twin sons Darius and Cyrus. The two brothers served together in the 44^th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War – and both became well known artists. Darius and Cyrus were born in the Old Parsonage in Malden, once home to the Reverend Joseph Emerson (1700-1767), the great-grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The house, also a station on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, is located just three blocks from the Malden Public Library.