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Born on the 10th of September 1926 in Surrey, England, Beryl Cook did not even consider taking up painting until she was in her middle age. Beginning without any formal training, Cook had only her eye to rely on as she traveled whilst painting. Cook was greatly inspired by fine artists Stanley Spencer and Edward Burra, and their effects on her work are very noticable in the forms of her characters' gold bulky figures.
In 1979, a film was made and dedicated to Beryl Cook for LWT's South Bank Show and in February 2004 two half hour animated films starring Beryl Cook's characters were screened on BBC One. Following this, Cook was made an O.B.E in 1995 and ten years later in 2005 a short film of her works was presented on the Channel 4 News and she was a featured artist a year later in 2006 on 'The Culture Show'.
Cook's works have been exhibited in a variety of galleries such as the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art, Bristol City Art Gallery, Plymouth Art Gallery and Durham Museum as well as having her own personal exhibition in 2007 in The Baltic, Gateshead.
Beryl Cook passed away in 2008 after leaving behind a great legacy of artwork and a distinctive style unlike any other, a full retrospect exhibition was put on by Plymouth University in November and December of the same year. Following this in 2010, several of her works were loaned to Tate Britain for their exhibition 'Rude Britannia - British Comic Art'. Bristol City Art Gallery and Museum also held a retrospective exhibition of Cook's works in 2011.
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