[1] Coburn was born in the village of Upper Melbourne in Quebec's Eastern Townships, southeast of Montreal.

[1] His talent was recognized early by William Henry Drummond who introduced him to the firm of Notman and Fraser for advice on Coburn's art education.

In 1897, he returned to Europe for additional study with Albrecht de Vriendt at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts in Belgium.

Putnam Company of New York, and illustrated books by authors such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and others.

In the early 1900s, Coburn painted still lifes of flowers, portraits, and spring and summer landscapes of the Eastern Townships which were dark in tone.

[1] He specialized in the painting of horse and oxen drawn sleds in Laurentian and Eastern Townships settings.

In 1936, he received an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law conferred upon him by Bishop's University at Lennoxville, Quebec.