John Kingsley Cook (1911-1994) was an English artist, teacher and wood engraver.

Biography

Cook was born in

Winchcombe Winchcombe () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury in the county of Gloucestershire, England, it is 6 miles north-east of Cheltenham. The population was recorded as 4,538 in the 2011 census and estimated at 5,347 in ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and studied art 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 ...

, where he was taught by both

Walter Thomas Monnington Sir Walter Thomas Monnington PRA (2 October 1902 – 7 January 1976) was an English painter, notable for several large murals, his work as a war artist and for his Presidency of the Royal Academy. Early life and education Monnington was ...

and

Walter Westley Russell Sir Walter Westley Russell CVO RA (31 May 1867 – 16 April 1949) was a British painter and art teacher. He became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1926 and served as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools from 1927 to 1942. Life and ca ...

. At the RA, Cook won a gold medal and a travelling scholarship. He went on to study at the Central School of Art and Crafts where he specialised in wood engraving, under the direction of

Noel Rooke Noel Rooke (1881–1953) was a British wood-engraver and artist. His ideas and teaching made a major contribution to the revival of British wood-engraving in the twentieth century. Biography Rooke was born in Acton, London and he would remain in ...

. In 1939, for the book publisher Harrap, he illustrated ''The Teamsmen'' by Crichton Porteous. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Cook served as a wireless operator in the Merchant Navy. Cook was shipwrecked in October 1941 and spent several days in an open boat in the Mediterranean when his ship, the '' Empire Guillemot'', en route from Malta, was attacked and sunk. Cook was then held captive in prisoner-of-war camps in Algeria for a year until the Allied landings in North Africa liberated the camps. Both while at sea and in the camps, Cook continued to sketch and, when possible, paint. In due course, the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

acquired some nine examples of these works and they are now held in the Imperial War Museum in London. After a period of recuperation, Cook rejoined the Merchant Navy and served on refuelling tankers in the Mediterranean until the war ended. When his war service ended in 1945, Cook settled in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and taught graphic design and engraving at the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

, where he also lectured on the history of art. In 1958 he created the mosaic wall at the Lady Altar in the newly built St Teresa's Church in Dumfries. Working in situ and with three assistants, it was completed in three weeks. In 1960 he was appointed Head of Design at the College, a post he held until his retirement in 1971. In Edinburgh, Cook had a number of solo exhibitions at both the Demarco Gallery and at

Open Eye Gallery Open Eye Gallery is a photography gallery and archive in Liverpool, UK that was established in 1977. It is housed in a purpose-built building on the waterfront at Mann Island, its fourth location. Open Eye Gallery comprises an exhibition space ...

but also showed in London including at the Gallery Upstairs at the Royal Academy. Cook toured a show of images called ''Microcosm'' and also produced a volume of poems and wood engravings entitled ''Aftermath'', based on drawings made in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and London after war-time air raids on those cities. Cook added a postscript, entitled ''The Greening'' to the volume in 1984. Later in life, Cook turned to a more abstract style of painting and also created large works on ecological themes. A memorial show to Cook was held in 1995 at the Edinburgh College of Art and a retrospective exhibition was held at the Open Eye Gallery in 1999. Cook's wartime sketches were included in the ''War Artists At Sea'' exhibition mounted at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

in 2014. A number of retrospective drawings Cook made, in the 1960s, of his wartime experiences are also held at Greenwich.

References

External links

*
Works by Cook in the Imperial War Museum collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, John Kingsley 1911 births 1994 deaths 20th-century English male artists 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II British war artists People from Winchcombe Shipwreck survivors World War II artists