Beryl Cook is one of the UK’s best loved artists, creating work that didn’t alienate anyone. Beryl simply painted pictures of everyday life and people that she would see around her. Her artwork ranges from women getting on the bus for a night out to the dustbin men coming to pick up the rubbish in the morning. Beryl was an everyday person; this could be seen in her artwork and is why she is loved so much by the British public.
Beryl’s first love was a man called John Cook who lived across the road from her house in Surrey and they began a relationship when they were 15 years old. John was signed up in order to serve his country during the war as a member of the Merchant Navy. Whilst John was away serving his country they kept in touch and then in 1948 they got married but it was not until Beryl’s son John was born that she found her artistic talent. In 1950 their son John was born and soon after the new family moved to the country now known as Zimbabwe. During the 9 years they were there Beryl would use her son John’s paint set to paint the odd picture to pass the time.
On returning to England John found a job in the motor industry in Bodmin, Devon where they befriended a local antiques dealer. The antiques dealer loved Beryl’s artwork and asked if she’d be interested in selling some in her antiques shop. They sold all 3 paintings and this inspired Beryl to start painting more often and sell her paintings through her friends shop.
Despite never really promoting herself as an artist or actively trying to sell paintings, Beryl still managed to become a successful artist. This was mainly because of prints and postcards of her work that were both affordable and non threatening to the people that bought them. It wasn’t until her later life that she became a recognised artist that is loved across the globe.
Beryl Cook passed away before the summer of 2008. Her husband was shocked by the amount of coverage this event received in the media and the national and global out pour of support and sadness for their family. National newspapers from all over the world reported her death and her husband John has kept a scrap book containing the obituaries. Beryl Cook Prints have since seen an increase in sales and the recent retrospective of her work being held at Plymouth University has received joyful praise as the best way to say goodbye to a much loved artist.