Jill Cook, (born 1954) is a British
museum curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
who is the acting Keeper of the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. She curates the collection of European Prehistory and is a specialist in
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
art and the archaeology of human evolution.
Career
Cook joined the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1986 as the curator of European Prehistory, becoming Deputy Keeper and is presently the Acting Keeper (head of department) of Britain, Europe and Prehistory. Cook was elected a member of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
in 1990.
Ice Age Art
Cook curated the exhibition ''Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind'' at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 2013. The exhibition was a surprise success for the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, which extended its run, despite the fact that it had struggled to attract sponsorship. ''Ice Age art'' attracted large visitor numbers and good reviews. Cook used art by
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...
,
Mondrian, and
Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
, as well as work by modern artists such as
Ghislaine Howard in combination with
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
artefacts to examine the development of western art.
''Ice Age art'' was transformed into a new exhibition called ''Art in the age of Altamira'' at the Fundación Botín,
Santander
Santander may refer to:
Places
* Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain
* Santander Department, a department of Colombia
* Santander State, former state of Colombia
* Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
in late 2013.
The Lampedusa Cross
The Lampedusa Cross was acquired by Cook for the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 2015. It was made and donated by
Francesco Tuccio, a carpenter who created crosses from the wreck of a boat which sank on 11 October 2013 off the coast of
Lampedusa
Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ''comune'' of L ...
resulting in the deaths of 311 people. In 2021 the cross was temporarily loaned to
Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery located in, Hastings, East Sussex, England. Established in 1892, it originally resided in the Brassey Institute (now the town's library), but moved to its current location in 1927. i ...
.
Living with Gods
Cook curated the exhibition ''Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond'' at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 2017–2018. The exhibition was part of a series of related projects produced by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
*''Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind'' (British Museum Press, 2013)
*with P Woodman, 'Elephant's Teeth in the Diocese of Kilmore' ''Archaeology Ireland'' Vol. 27, No. 4 (Winter 2013), pp. 11–14
*''The Swimming Reindeer (Objects in Focus)'' (British Museum Press, 2010)
*with S Milliken, ''A Very Remote Period Indeed. Papers on Palaeolithic Archaeology Presented to Derek Roe'' (Oxbow books 2001)
*'Preliminary Report on Marked Human Bones from the 1986-1987 Excavations at Gough's Cave, Somerset, England' ''Anthropologie'' (1962-) Vol. 29, No. 3 (1991), pp. 181–187
*'High Lodge: Einer der ältesten Fundplätze Englands?' ''Archäologie in Deutschland'' No. 3 (Juli-Sept. 1988), pp. 36–38
*with P Andrews, 'Natural Modifications to Bones in a Temperate Setting' ''Man'' New Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Dec., 1985), pp. 675–691
*'A Re-Examination of Methods of Study Applicable to the British Lower Palaeolithic' World Archaeology Vol. 12, No. 2, ''Early Man: Some Precise Moments in the Remote Past'' (Oct., 1980), pp. 218–225