Alice May Cook née Barnett (1876–1960) was a British artist, notable as a miniature painter and book illustrator.

Biography

Cook was born in the

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

area of London to Alice and

John Francis Barnett John Francis Barnett (16 October 183724 November 1916) was an English composer, pianist and teacher. Life John Francis Barnett was born on 16 October 1837 at St John's Wood, London. His father was Joseph Alfred Barnett (1810-1898), a professor ...

, a pianist and member of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. Aged 14, Cook enrolled in the

St John's Wood School of Art The St John's Wood Art School ( The Wood or Calderon's Art School) was an art school in St John's Wood, north London, England. The Art School was established in 1878 and was located on Elm Tree Road. It was founded by two art teachers, Elíseo Ab ...

and went on to study at the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

. Cook painted miniature portraits, often in watercolours, and created illustrations for children's books. She created over seventy-five illustrations, including fifteen colour plates for the 1915 book "Peggy's Travels". From 1907 to 1960 Cook exhibited a total of 51 works at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in London and also exhibited with the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

, the Society of Women Artists and also in Canada and South Africa. Cook was an elected member of the

Royal Miniature Society The Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers, more commonly known as the Royal Miniature Society (RMS), is an art society founded in 1895 dedicated to upholding and continuing the tradition of miniature painting and sculpture, ...

. She married a clerk, Walter Frank Cook, in 1899 and together they had seven children. Cook spent most of her life in London but also lived in Edinburgh and at

Spixworth Spixworth is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village lies close to the B1150 road and is north of Norwich and some south of North Walsham. It covers an area of and had a population of 3,769 in 1,508 househo ...

in Norfolk for periods and died at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

in Essex during 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Alice May 1876 births 1960 deaths 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Alumni of St John's Wood Art School English illustrators English women painters Painters from London People from Paddington