McNeill Gallery

About

Beryl Cook Exhibition – The Full Portfolio

The appeal of Beryl Cook's paintings is their directness and
exuberance, and the instant laughter they create.
Her characters are always enjoying themselves to the full.
Beryl is the least pretentious of painters and an artist in the same
tradition more perhaps via Donald McGill! She was described by
Victoria Wood as 'Rubens with Jokes'.

Beryl Cook's work is particularly interesting when viewed in the
context of the tradition of British social realist painting and she
could easily be described as a contemporary Hogarth or Gilray,
although she has a more sympathetic view of the human race.

She is like those painters, above all a social observer. She recorded Angels
human frailties and the absurdities of human behaviour with her
own unique vision. Beryl's personality though is in great contrast
to her paintings. She was a shy and private person, often depicting
the flamboyant and extrovert characters she would love to be.
She preferred to observe a crowd of people, her acute eye missing
nothing. She recorded in minute detail scenes of everyday life and
had an almost photographic memory.