| Facts/Data
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Birth
1926 (Surrey, England)
Death
2008
Lived/Active
England
Self portrait
Often Known For
mod social realist figure and genre painting
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Please note: Artists not classified as American in our database may have limited biographical data
compared to the extensive information about American artists.
 Born in Surrey, England, Beryl Cook is a painter of scenes of humanity
that are often humorous because of the distorted shapes of the figures
and the situations in which they are placed. She has been
described as a "Rubens with jokes" and "as a shy and private person,
often depicting the flamboyant and extrovert characters she would love
to be. She prefers to observe a crowd of people, her acute eye
missing nothing. She records in minute detail scenes of everyday
life and has an almost photographic memory.
Of her paintings, she says: I don't know how my pictures happen; they
just do. They exist, but for the life of me I can't explain them."
Although Beryl Cook travels extensively, her home has remained in
England where she maintains a studio in Plymouth. Her
talent received little attention beyond her immediate area until the
mid 1970s when an exhibition of her painting was held at the Plymouth
Art Centre. Organized by Bernard Samuels, Director of the Centre,
the show was a huge success and was even featured on the cover of the London Sunday Times Magazine. This attention led to successful gallery representation in London, and a 1979 film for the South Bank Show.
Raised in Surrey with three sisters, she gave no indication as a young
woman that she would become a painter. In 1943 at age seventeen,
she went to London where she took a job in fashion industry, inspiring
her life-long interest in people and the way they presented
themselves. She also joined the cast of a touring show, The Gypsy Princess.
In 1946, she married John Cook, whom she had known from childhood, and
after his retirement from the Merchant Marines, they ran a pub.
In 1950, they had a son and the next year moved to Southern Rhodesia,
which became a turning point in the career of Beryl because that is
where she began painting, having picked up some coloring supplies of
her son's. At first, she painted on a variety of
surfaces---anything that was handy---including a breadboard on which
she did an early work, Bowling Ladies. Ultimately she settled on wood panels as the ground of choice for her paintings.
The family returned to England in 1963 and lived first in Cornwall
and shortly after settled in Plymouth. During this period, she
dedicated herself seriously to her painting. In Plymouth, a town
filled with pubs and seaside activity related to fishermen and sailors,
she found much inspiration for her work that combined both whimsy and
serious social commentary. She and her husband ran a boarding
house to earn money, and for diversion, spent much time going to bars
where they saw a lot of the 'human scene' including "flamboyant drag
acts." Much of her work continues to derive from those settings.
Source:
Beryl Cook website: http://www.berylcook.org/desktopdefault_BC.aspx?tabid=287&tabindex=7
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Biography from American Design Ltd.:
| Please note: Artists not classified as American in our database may have limited biographical data
compared to the extensive information about American artists.
 For some viewers, Beryl Cook’s work is particularly interesting when
viewed in the context of the tradition of British social realist
painting, and she could easily be described as a contemporary Hogarth
or Gilray, although she has a more sympathetic view of the human race.
Her work, like that of those painters, is from the vantage point of the
social observer. She records human frailties and the absurdities of
human behavior with her own unique vision.
Beryl’s personality, however, is in great contrast to her
paintings. She is a shy and private person, often depicting the
flamboyant and extrovert characters she would love to be. She
prefers to observe a crowd of people, her acute eye missing
nothing. She records in minute detail scenes of everyday life and
has an almost photographic memory. |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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