Beryl Cook

By Hilary Bracegirdle

Discover the life and work of Beryl Cook, a wildly original artist whose bold, humorous paintings celebrate women, pleasure, and everyday life without apology.

Beryl Cook (1926-2008) was a self-taught British artist known for herband her joyful, irreverent view of the world. Her paintings feature confident, larger-than-life women--dancing in nightclubs, lingering over meals in caf s, or celebrating together with uninhibited delight. Rendered in vibrant color and graphic forms, her work is funny, warm, and refreshingly honest.

Emerging in the mid-1970s, Cook quickly became one of Britain's most popular artists, admired for scenes that challenge conventional ideas of beauty while embracing humor, community, and pleasure. Her work is celebratory yet provocative, offering a rare female perspective on public life, friendship, and desire. Collectors of her work include Jackie Collins, Whoopi Goldberg, and Yoko Ono.

Published to coincide with the centenary of her birth, Beryl Cook brings together her most important paintings alongside previously unpublished drawings and sketches. The book offers a full view of her artistic journey, revealing the woman behind the work and the world she so vividly portrayed.

Whether you are a long-standing admirer or discovering Beryl Cook for the first time, this is the ideal moment to encounter her work in full.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1805702629
• ISBN13: 9781805702627
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 2.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.7" x 9.9"