Beryl Cook, OBE (10 September 1926–28 May 2008) was a British painter. Often comical, her works pictured people whom she encountered in everyday life, including people enjoying themselves in pubs, girls shopping or out on a hen night, drag queen shows or a family picnicking by the seaside or abroad. She had no formal training and did not take up painting until her thirties. She was a shy and private person, and in her work often depicted flamboyant and extrovert characters very different from herself. Although widely popular and recognised as one of the best-known contemporary British artists, Cook was never accepted by the art establishment.
Since her death in 2008, Beryl's son John and granddaughter Sophie have run the official Beryl Cook website providing insights into her life.
Life and career
Early life
Beryl Francis Lansley (later, Cook) was born on 10 September 1926 in Egham, Surrey, one of four sisters.[citation needed] Her parents, Adrian S. B. Lansley and Ella Farmer-Francis, separated very early,[when?] and her mother moved to Reading, Berkshire, with her daughters.[citation needed]
Cook attended Kendrick School in Reading, but left education at fourteen and started to work in a variety of jobs.
In 1948, Cook married her childhood friend John Cook, who was in the merchant navy.[citation needed] When he retired from seafaring, they briefly ran a pub in Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk.[citation needed] Their son John was born in 1950, and in 1956, the family left to live in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).[citation needed] They remained in Africa for the next decade, where in 1960, Cook produced her first painting, Hangover, after picking up her son's paint set.
Return to England
Beryl Cook, Tea in the Garden
The Cook family returned to England in the mid-1960s, and in 1965, moved to East Looe, Cornwall, where Beryl focused more on her painting.[citation needed] She would work on old boards, cardboard and driftwood.
In 1968, the Cook family moved to Plymouth, where they bought a guest house on the Hoe.[citation needed] Cook divided her time between running the guest house and painting.[citation needed]
In the mid-1970s, Cook's works caught the attention of one of their guests, who put her in touch with the management of Plymouth Arts Centre. The director, Bernard Samuel's, persuaded her to have her first public exhibition there, which took place in November 1975.[citation needed] The show resulted in a magazine cover feature in The Sunday Times.[citation needed] This was followed by a 1976 exhibition at the Portal Gallery in London, who would represent her and exhibit her work regularly until her death.[citation needed] She soon became, according to Julian Spalding, the most genuinely popular living artist in Britain.
Cook's first book of collected works was published by John Murray in 1978.[citation needed] From then until the early 2000s, she regularly published books of her own art, such as Beryl Cook's New York (1985), which had been inspired by her three-week visit to New York City in 1983. Cook all collaborated with authors such as Edward Lucie-Smith and Nanette Newman, providing illustrations for their books.[citation needed]
In 1995, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire. She did not attend the official ceremony, due to her shyness, accepting the honour at a quieter ceremony in Plymouth the following year.[citation needed] The Royal Mail reproduced[when?] one of her paintings as a first-class postage stamp.[citation needed]
Whilst Cook gained public popularity, the art world often looked down on her work. In 1996, former Tate director Nicholas Serota declared that "There will be no Beryl Cooks in Tate Modern". As of 2025, the Tate held none of the artists works in their collection. However, Cook loved that ordinary people loved her work, and would reply personally to hundreds of letters she received from fans of her work.
Beryl Cook died on 28 May 2008 at home in Plymouth.[citation needed]Peninsula Arts of the Plymouth University mounted a major retrospective exhibition in November that year.[citation needed] Two books devoted to her were published: Beryl Cook 1926-2008 and The World of Beryl Cook.[citation needed] In January 2026, a major retrospective of Cook's work was held at The Box in Plymouth to mark the centenary of her birth. It was the most extensive presentation of her work to date, and featured works that had rarely or never been previously exhibited.
Work
Cook admired the work of the English artist Stanley Spencer for her compositions and bold bulky figures. Another influence was Edward Burra, who painted sleazy cafés, nightclubs, gay bars, sailors and prostitutes, although, unlike Burra, she did not paint the disturbing aspects of such scenes.[citation needed] She had an almost photographic memory.[citation needed]
Her work has been compared to that of Colombian artist Fernando Botero.
Awards and recognition
Cook was awarded several prizes for her work, including:
↑Searle, Adrian (24 July 2007). "Call this a national treasure?". The Guardian. One might think of Cook's interchangeable big women as corpulent cousins to the bulging fatties of Colombian artist Fernando Botero, or the big, brooding figures that William Roberts painted. Botero has latterly been painting the victims of Abu Ghraib. Cook won't even paint someone who looks as though they are suffering a mild headache, let alone an electrode to the genitals.
