BERYL COOK Artist: Biography - Paintings & Prints for sale - Auction prices - Art on Google Images

BERYL COOK: Artist biography - Auction prices & values - Beryl Cook on Wikipedia - Signature - Picture gallery - Dealers - Artist photo - Artist website

Beryl Cook OBE was born Beryl Frances Lansley on September 10th 1926 in Egham, Surrey. Unlike most successful artists, she showed little artistic talent at school and left school at the early age of 14. But after her marriage to schooldays friend John Cook, the pair eventually moved to Plymouth where they ran a busy theatrical boarding house. This allowed to her concentrate on painting in the quieter winter months. Without any formal artistic training, Beryl developed her own unique style in a genre now generally known as "primitive naïve ". She painted in oils on wood panels, a medium that continued to be her favourite throughout her life. She painted in bright attractive colours, creating unforgettable characters, indeed caricatures, often of somewhat overweight mature ladies, sometimes enjoying themselves in slightly compromising situations, as brilliantly captured for example in "the male stripper".

After encouragement from her husband, a local antiques dealer and the Plymouth Art Centre, Beryl opened her first exhibition in 1975 which proved to be hugely popular. This was followed by an equally successful exhibition in 1976.

Beryl Cook's work is so admired that her originals rarely turn up at auction. Instead, we have to be content with pencil signed and numbered lithographs and screenprints which sell at up to US$600 or more. If you are lucky enough to track down an original, you may have to pay up to US$27,500 or more.

The artist died on May 28th 2008 in Plymouth.

Beryl Cook: Auction prices

Beryl Cook: Gallery of Work on Google

Beryl Cook: "The Official Website"

Beryl Cook: "The Official Family run website"

Beryl Cook on Wikipedia including Beryl Cook photo.

Beryl Cook signature

Beryl Cook Limited Edition prints on Ebay

Beryl Cook: Galleries and Dealers.

Beryl Cook: Obituary