Coignard

James Coignard (Tours, 25 September 1925 - Cannes, 7 March 2008) was a French painter, ceramist, sculptor and etcher. He studied at the Arts décoratifs in Nice and made his breakthrough through gallerist and publisher Paul Hervieu, who brought him fame especially in Scandinavia.

Initially counted among the Ecole de Paris, Coignard developed a language of his own. The technical turning point came in 1968, when his friend Henri Goetz discovered the carborundum etching technique; the etching thereafter became central to his work. He was regarded as one of the greatest painter-etchers of his time.