Beryl Cook, OBE (1926 –2008) was a British painter best known for her original and instantly recognisable paintings. 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.
Cook admired the work of the English artist Stanley Spencer; his influence is evident in 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. She had an almost photographic memory. Although widely popular and recognised as one of the best-known contemporary British artists, Cook was never accepted by the art establishment.
Having moved to London towards the end of the Second World War, Beryl tried working as a model and showgirl. In 1948, she married her childhood friend John Cook, who was in the merchant navy.
The family moved to Plymouth in 1968, where they bought a guest house on the Hoe. Cook divided her time between running the guest house and painting. In the mid-1970s, her works caught the attention of one of their guests, who put her in touch with the management of Plymouth Arts Centre, where her first exhibition took place in November 1975. The show was a great success and resulted in a magazine cover feature in The Sunday Times. This was followed by a 1976 exhibition at the Portal Gallery in London, where Cook continued to exhibit regularly until her death.
She soon became, in the estimation of Julian Spalding, the most genuinely popular living artist in Britain.
Her first book of collected works was published by John Murray in 1978, and in 1979, a film was made for LWT's The South Bank Show in which she discussed her work with Melvyn Bragg. Cook collaborated with such authors as Edward Lucie-Smith and Nanette Newman, providing illustrations for their books. 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.
In 1994, she received the Best-Selling Published Artist Award from the Fine Art Trade Guild. 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. The Royal Mail reproduced one of her paintings as a first-class postage stamp. In 2002, her painting The Royal Couple featured in the Golden Jubilee exhibition in London. Tiger Aspect Productions made two animated films called Bosom Pals using characters from her paintings, voiced by Dawn French, Rosemary Leach, Alison Steadman, and Timothy Spall; they were broadcast in February 2004. Channel 4 News produced a short film on Beryl and her work in 2005, and she was also the featured artist in an episode of BBC Two's The Culture Show in 2006.
Beryl Cook died on 28 May 2008 at home in Plymouth. Peninsula Arts of the Plymouth University mounted a major retrospective exhibition in November that year. 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. Her paintings have been acquired by the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Plymouth Art Gallery, and Durham Museum.
Her work has been compared to that of Colombian artist Fernando Botero.
© 2026. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Beryl Cook or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Ms. Beryl Cook |
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| The Lockyer Tavern, 1974 |
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| Big Julie, 1977 |
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| The Art Class, 1979 |
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| Drinkie, 1981 |
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| Shoe Shop, 1985 |
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| Birthday Surprises, for British Rail, 1986 |
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| Bryant Park, 1986 |
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| Roulette, 1986 |
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| Strippergram, 1986 |
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| The Manipulators, 1986 |
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| The Staircase, 1986 |
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| Panto Dame, 1987 |
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| Lunchtime Refreshment, 1988 |
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| Strippergram, 1989 |
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| Allo, Chéri, 1990 |
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| Gare du Nord, 1990 |
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| Getting Ready, 1990 |
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| Sultry Afternoon, 1990 |
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| The Baron Entertains, 1990 |
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| Karaoke, 1992 |
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| Elvira's Cafe, 1993 |
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| French Tango, 1995 |
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| Party Girls, 1997 |
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| Tango Busking, 1997 |
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| Twins, 1997 |
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| Cruisin, 1999 |
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| Escargot Pour Trois, 2001 |
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| Girls Night Out, 2001 |
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| Tea in the Garden, 2002 |
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| Bus stop, 2006 |
