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Ad Code: 4
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watercolor
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Irma Howard Cook, wife of artist August Charles Cook, was the only
child of Dr. Lawrence and Edith Reid Howard of Balston Spa, New
York. Born in 1899, she experienced a childhood illness, which
resulted in a degenerative hearing loss relatively early in her life.
Her parents encouraged her to learn to become a seamstress in
the event that she one day might need to support herself. A gay
and extroverted soul, she nevertheless convinced her parents to allow
her to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, where she
proceeded to win three of the school's most coveted awards, twice
winning the Cresson Memorial Travel Scholarship, followed by the Toppan
Prize, available only to Cresson winners.
Today, an annual drawing award of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts honors both the Cooks and their revered instructor, Daniel Garber.
As talented as she was -- August referred to her as the finest artist
he knew -- her interest in being a mother (Irma Sue Cook
Haynes; Peter August Cook; Howard Cook) took precedence in her
life. However, she did teach privately in the basement studio of
the Cooks' Spartanburg home on Fairview Avenue Extension.
Portraiture and still lifes in oils and watercolor still lifes and
landscapes were her strength. Because her life was much more private
than her husband's, less is known about her life and work and the
whereabouts of her existing art, although a significant number of her
pieces remain in the possession of family members.
Irma was a founding member of The Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg,
created in 1957 by 16 local artists to support one another in their
artistic endeavors. She is listed in Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975 (1999, Peter Hastings Falk, Editor); Annual Exhibition Record, 1914-68, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1989, Peter Hastings Falk, Editor) and The Artists Bluebook (Lonnie Pierson Dunbier, Editor).
Works of both the Cooks are included in the collections of The Morris
Museum, Augusta, Ga., and The Palmetto Bank Endowed Permanent
Collection of The Spartanburg Museum of Art.
Several of the Cooks' students still live in the Spartanburg area, and
include Katie Hodge, whose "Painting with Wool" exhibit was featured in
2003 in The Spartanburg Museum of Art.
Frank Coleman (1921-1994), along with Irma, was a founder of both the
Artists' Guild of Spartanburg and the Spartanburg Historical
Association. His use of color was extolled by his former teacher and
mentor, Irma Cook. He was also a student of archeology, architecture,
photography.
Submitted February 2007 by Sally Cook Parsons, granddaughter of the artist
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Biography from Spartanburg County Museum of Art:
| Irma Howard Cook: 1899 - 1984, was born in Ballston Spa, NY, and
graduated from The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She married
August Cook in 1924 and taught private lessons from her basement studio
until her death. She is best known for her oil portraits,
watercolors of homes, interiors and for her teaching.
She received numerous awards during her time at The Academy.
The Spartanburg County Museum of Art produced a catalog August & Irma Cook: A Legacy of Art to accompany an exhibit of their works 8/28-10/8/2000.
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| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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