Augustus Koopman, painter and etcher, was born in Charlotte, the son of Bernard and Johanna Koopman. After attending Central High School in Philadelphia, he began art studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Later he went to Paris, where he entered the École des Beaux Arts and studied under Bouguereau and Robert Fleury. On 6 May 1897 he married Louise Lovett Osgood of Cohasset, Mass. Koopman made France his home, wintering in Paris and spending the spring and summer in Étaples and in the nearby village of Équihen. He taught painting in Paris from 1896 to 1899 and specialized in portraits while in London from 1902 to 1906.
Koopman's works covered many themes. He was not essentially a marine painter; he was also a figure painter, using his own children as models.
He died of paraylsis in Étaples.