Beryl Cook was born in 1926. At school she showed a great talent in painting. She moved to London in 1943 and worked in a variety of jobs. She worked in the fashion industry which inspired her interest in the way that people dress and how they look.
Beryl started painting again when she used her sons painting set. Her new hobby grew when she became the owner of a theatrical boarding house in Plymouth and started painting the eventful night life of the fishermen and sailors of the town. Her first exhibition was in the Plymouth Art Centre in 1975. It was a huge success and grew interest in the media and the London art scene. Her inimitable style and cast of characters has led to a hugely successful career spanning four decade. All very impressive for an artist who is entirely self taught and remains very modest and somewhat surprised by her success.
Undoubtedly Beryl Cook will be remembered as a great social observer a recorder of what people wore and how they enjoyed themselves at the end of the twentieth century. "I don't know how my pictures happen they just do. They exist but for the life of me I can't explain them."