Coes attended New York University before studying at the Art Students League under George Bridgeman and Frank Vincent DuMond, and at the Grand Central School of Art under Edmund Greacen and Grant Reynard. He joined the staff of McGraw-Hill Publications in about 1945, and at the time of his retirement in 1975 was art director of two of the firm's periodicals.
A watercolorist, he is noted for his traditional landscape scenes, often centered on picturesque buildings, but Coes's life-long interest in railroad history and operations led to trains, engines and their surroundings being the subject most favored by both the artist and his audience. He has also frequently been commissioned by trade publications for views of modern manufacturing plants.
He is the recipient of the Allied Artists of America Gold Medal in 1959, and the National Arts Club Bronze Medal in 1972, among other awards.
Coes has made his home in New Jersey since 1928, and was a founder of the New Jersey Watercolor Society. He is also a member of the American Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, the Academic Artists Association, and Artists' Fellowship Inc.
