Hereward Lester Cooke (1916–1973) was an American painter.
Cooke was born in
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in 1916. He studied at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, the
Art Students League
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may stu ...
(under
George Bridgman
George Brant Bridgman (November 5, 1864 – December 16, 1943) was a Canadian-American painter, writer, and teacher in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the Art Students League of New York for some ...
), the
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
School of Fine Art, and
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
Graduate School, where he received his Ph.D.
Cooke is known more for his work in art history than for his painting, having written several texts, especially ''Painting Lessons from the Great Masters'' in 1967. He was the Curator of Painting at the
National Gallery of Art from 1961 to 1973, and before that a National Gallery Aide and its acting assistant director, beginning in 1956. Part of his duties as curator included heading the Expert Opinions Section of the National Gallery, where owners of artworks could come and have their art appraised or otherwise identified. He was a well-known authority on fakes and forgeries and was called the "Sherlock Holmes of the Art World" for his work in solving art mysteries of attribution. As a curator, Cooke was also very influential in the government-sponsored art programs, helping to select artists for the
Environmental Protection Agency art program and serving as art advisor to
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
for ten years. He organized the National Gallery Exhibit of NASA art in 1969.
Cooke's successes may have been more visible in art history, but he was also well regarded as an artist. Not only was he appointed director of the American pavilion at the
Venice Biannual International Art Exhibition, he was also named artist-in-residence at Princeton for four years and later won the
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
and a
Fulbright Fellowship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
. In 1940 he won the American Beaux Arts prize for
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
s. Cooke died in 1973.
References
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Hereward Lester
1916 births
1973 deaths
People from Princeton, New Jersey
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Art Students League of New York alumni
Yale School of Art alumni
Princeton University alumni
National Gallery of Art
American art historians
Painters from New Jersey
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
Historians from New York (state)
American male non-fiction writers
Historians from New Jersey
American expatriates in the United Kingdom