Beryl Cook
| Beryl Cook | |
|---|---|
 Beryl Cook in her office |
|
| Birth name | Beryl Frances Tansley |
| Born | 10 September 1926 Epsom, Surrey, England |
| Died | 28 May 2008 (aged 81) Plymouth, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Field | Painting |
| Website | http://www.berylcook.org/ |
Beryl Cook, OBE (10 September 1926 – 28 May 2008) was an English artist best known for comical paintings of people she encountered in her home city.[1] She had no formal training and did not take up painting until middle age.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Beryl Frances Tansley was born in 1926 at Epsom in Surrey, as one of four sisters. She grew up in Reading in Berkshire, where she attended Kendrick School, a selective girls' school near the centre of the town. Beryl left school at fourteen, and worked in a variety of jobs.[3] Moving to London in 1943, she became a showgirl in a touring production of The Gypsy Princess.[4] She also worked in the fashion industry.[5]
In 1946 she married her childhood friend John Cook, who was in the Merchant Navy.[6] When he retired from the navy, they briefly ran a pub. Their son John was born in 1950, and the following year they left to live in Southern Rhodesia. One day she picked up some paints belonging to her son, and started a picture. She carried on doing so, using various materials, painting on scraps of wood, fire screens and a breadboard. An early painting is Bowling Ladies.
In 1963, the Cooks returned to England to live in Cornwall, where she began to paint seriously. They moved to Plymouth, where they ran a busy theatrical boarding house in the summer months. She concentrated on painting in the winter months, recreating her personal views of Plymouth in oils on wooden panels. An antique dealer friend persuaded her to let him try and sell a few, and they sold quickly.
[edit] Artistic achievements
Bernard Samuels of the Plymouth Art Centre became aware of this "local phenomenon", and, in 1975, he convinced her to have an exhibition. The show resulted in a cover feature in the Sunday Times magazine, followed by her first exhibition in London in 1976 at the Portal Gallery, where she continued to exhibit until her death. In 1979, a film was made about Cook for LWT's The South Bank Show, where she discussed her work with Melvyn Bragg.
Although widely popular and recognized as one of the best-known of contemporary British artists, Cook never enjoyed acceptance by the art establishment.[4]
In 1995, she was made an OBE.[7] Her contribution to The Queen's Golden Jubilee, The Royal Couple, featured in the Golden Jubilee Exhibition, May 2002, at Art London, Chelsea.
Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art has three paintings by Cook. She is represented in Plymouth City Art Gallery, Durham Art Gallery and Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.
[edit] Later life
Tiger Aspect made two half-hour animated films of Beryl Cook's women who meet at Plymouth's Dolphin Pub. Bosom Pals has a voice cast of Dawn French, Rosemary Leach, Alison Steadman and Timothy Spall.[8] The programmes were broadcast on BBC One in 2004 and won several animation awards. Channel 4 News featured a short film of Cook and her work in early 2005, the first in over 20 years. She also appeared in Art School on BBC Two.
In 2006, Portal Gallery held a comprehensive exhibition of Cook's work to celebrate her 80th birthday. A retrospective exhibition of her work was curated by Peter Doroshenko at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in 2007. She lived and worked in Plymouth, where she died in May 2008. Plymouth University mounted a major retrospective in November 2008.
[edit] Personality and influences
Cook was a shy and private person,[9] often depicting the flamboyant and extrovert characters she would like to be.[10] She had an almost photographic memory.
She found new material for her work while travelling. Early local scenes expanded those depicting Buenos Aires, New York, Cuba, Paris and Barcelona.
Cook admired the work of the English visionary artist Stanley Spencer,[11] his influence evident in her compositions and bold bulky figures. Another influence was Edward Burra, who painted sleazy cafes, nightclubs, gay bars, sailors and prostitutes, although, unlike Burra, she did not paint the sinister aspects of scenes. She was described by Victoria Wood as "Rubens with jokes".[10]
Director Richard Jones's 1990s ROH production of Der Ring des Nibelungen featured Rhinemaidens who wore padded naked latex body suits (designed by Nigel Lowry) that reminded audiences and critics of Cook's buxom figures.
[edit] Books
- 1978: The Works
- 1980: Private View
- 1985: New York
- 1988: London
- 1991: Bouncers
- 1995: Happy Days
- 2000: Cruising
[edit] References
- ^ "Beryl Cook: a Profile". www.bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/famous/beryl_cook.shtml. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "Painter Beryl Cook dies aged 81". www.bbc.co.uk. 2008-05-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7423702.stm. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Veronica Horwell (2008-05-28). "Obituary: Beryl Cook". The Guardian (London: www.guardian.co.uk). http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/may/28/art.obituaries. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ a b "Beryl Cook". The Telegraph (London: www.telegraph.co.uk). 2008-05-28. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2043397/Beryl-Cook.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Isabel Albiston (2007-07-14). "The world of Beryl Cook, artist". The Telegraph (London: www.telegraph.co.uk). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3666566/The-world-of-Beryl-Cook-artist.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "Beryl Cook The Artist". www.beryl-cook.info. http://www.beryl-cook.info/. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Beryl Cook at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Adrian Searle (2007-07-24). "Adrian Searle on why Beryl Cook paintings may make you feel queasy". The Guardian (London: www.guardian.co.uk). http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/jul/24/art. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "Beryl Cook: The Times obituary". The Times (London: www.timesonline.co.uk). 2008-05-29. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4022118.ece. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ a b Rachel Campbell-Johnston (2006-08-29). "Roll out the Beryls". The Times (London: www.timesonline.co.uk). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article621636.ece. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Jess Wilder (2008-05-30). "Beryl Cook: Self-taught painter with a beady eye for the joys and absurdities of life". The Independent (London: www.independent.co.uk). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/beryl-cook-selftaught-painter-with-a-beady-eye-for-the-joys-and-absurdities-of-life-836722.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
