This instrument is featured as part of our 2023 Contemporary American Makers Exhibition and Sale

The viola bears the label “Douglas C. Cox, Brattleboro, Vermont, 2017, #955” and is branded

and initialed on the inside. It is built of well aged New England grown wood. The back is cut

on the quarter from two pieces of maple with medium width flames descending slightly from

the center joint. The ribs and neck are of maple similar to that of the back. The table is of two

pieces of spruce of mostly medium-narrow growth. The varnish is of a red-brown color over a

golden ground and is shaded and imitated. The fittings are of boxwood with white trim. The

principal dimensions are:

Length: 410 mm

Upper Bout: 196 mm

Middle Bout: 140 mm

Lower Bout: 248 mm

Rib Height: 36-37 mm

String Length: 364 mm

"Douglas is a gentleman of deep integrity, full of love for his art and craft, and meticulous in husbanding his 'children' — the instruments he makes so well. I cannot recommend Doug Cox highly enough." -- Marylou Speaker Churchill (1945-2009) 

Douglas Cox received his early training at the State Vocational School for Violin Making in Mittenwald, Germany in the late 1960's, then spent ten years as chief restorer and head of the repair department for the firm of J. Bradley Taylor, Inc. in Boston, servicing the finest instruments in the New England area. Since 1981, he has devoted himself to making professional concert-quality instruments at his studio in the hills outside Brattleboro, Vermont.

Doug combines the discipline and workmanship of his early training with years of study of fine old instruments. He continues to stretch his understanding of what makes violins work by building close copies of unusual and noteworthy master instruments. Doug offers a wider range of sizes within the violin and viola spectrums than most makers and delights in using American woods whenever possible.

Doug has built over 1000 instruments in his 52-year career. His instruments have received awards from the Violin Society of America and are played by artists around the world in a wide variety of musical settings.

“I absolutely love my Cox violin. It is a joy and a pleasure to play on.  It feels and sounds like I am playing on a great old Italian violin.” -- Jaime Laredo 

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