A Hug From The Art World is thrilled to announce Beryl Cook Takes New York.
The exhibition will be on view from November 17th, 2022, through January 7th, 2023, at A Hug From The Art World, 515 West 19th Street, New York, NY, 10011.
Widely popular, Cook was known as one of Britain’s most famous artists. The public has always loved her paintings, which makes it rather surprising that Beryl Cook Takes New York is the artist’s first overseas exhibition.
Her work, however, was all too often overlooked by the establishment and critics alike. Therefore, it is rather poignant that her stateside debut happens to be at the epicenter of the Post-War Art World, The Big Apple, New York’s Manhattan.
Cook really understood how to capture the nuances of British Culture, depicting familiar scenes that lay just beneath the surface in perfect detail. From greasy spoon cafés, to ladies, dressed in traditional whites, playing bowls on the green, to the cheekiness of the nearly-nudes, she painted these humorous and joyful moments with laser sharp precision, highlighting the underbelly of Britain’s quirks.
Arriving by Concorde, she visited the United States, travelling cross-country by train and returning on the QE2, exemplifying Cook’s thirst for experience. Planes, trains, and automobiles - she soaked up America in all its glory, taking visual notes with her brilliantly discerning eye to be thrown later onto her canvases enthusiastically with whimsical skill and humorous ease.
She loved New York and being in the “big city,” it made her feel like a “highflyer.” A number of the paintings included in this retrospective reference her time in the City.
Beryl Cook Takes New York brings together over forty paintings, multiple drawings, and archival materials spanning five decades. The exhibition will showcase Cook’s first-ever painting, Hungover, 1962, as well as Tommy Dancing, 2007/8, her very last. Every single work in the exhibition is on loan from The Beryl Cook Estate run by Beryl’s son, John, and granddaughter, Sophie. www.Ourberylcook.com
About the Artist
Beryl Cook, OBE (10th September 1926 – 28 May 2008) was a British artist best known for her original and instantly recognizable paintings. Often comical, her works depicted people whom she encountered in everyday life, including people enjoying themselves in pubs, girls shopping or out on a hen night, drag shows, or a family picnicking by the seaside or abroad. She had no formal training and did not take up painting until her thirties. Cook admired the work of the English artist, Stanley Spencer, his influence evident in her compositions and bold bulky figures. Another great 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 the scenes.
Upon Beryl’s death in Plymouth, the Peninsula Arts of Plymouth University mounted a major retrospective in November 2008. Two books devoted to her were published: Beryl Cook 1926-2008 and The World of Beryl Cook. In 2010, two of her paintings were used as part of the Rude Britannia exhibition at the Tate Britain. Beryl Cook’s paintings have been acquired by the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth Art Gallery and Durham Museum. Beryl’s work has been bought by private collectors all over the world, including Jackie Collins (Collins collection was later sold at Sotheby’s), Whoopi Goldberg, and Yoko Ono, to name a few.
Selected Exhibition History
2017 At Home, The Box, Plymouth, United Kingdom
2015 Intimate Relations, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, United Kingdom
2014 Working Hard, Playing Hard, Maritime Museum, Hull, United Kingdom
2008 Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom
2007 My World, Baltic Center, Gateshead, United Kingdom
2004 Touring Exhibition, Durham Gallery, Durham, United Kingdom
1992 Touring Exhibition, Portal Gallery and Scunthorpe Museum, Scunthorpe, United Kingdom
1988-1989 Touring Exhibition, Plymouth Museum, Plymouth, United Kingdom