Beryl Cook, OBE (10 September 192628 May 2008) was a British artist best known for her original and instantly recognisable paintings. Often comical, her works pictured people whom she encountered in everyday life, including people enjoying themselves in pubs, girls shopping or out on a hen night, drag queen shows or a family picnicking by the seaside or abroad. She had no formal training and did not take up painting until her thirties. She was a shy and private person, and in her art often depicted the flamboyant and extrovert characters so different to herself. Cook admired the work of the English artist Stanley Spencer, his influence evident in her compositions and bold bulky figures. Another influence was Edward Burra, who painted sleazy cafés, nightclubs, gay bars, sailors and prostitutes, although, unlike Burra, she did not paint the sinister aspects of scenes. She had an almost photographic memory. Although widely popular and recognised as one of the most well-known contemporary British artists, Cook never enjoyed acceptance by the art establishment. Since her death in 2008, Beryl's son John and granddaughter Sophie have run the official Beryl Cook website providing a look into her life. Biography Beryl Francis Lansley was born in Egham, Surrey, as one of four sisters. Her parents, Adrian S. B. Lansley and Ella Farmer-Francis, separated very early and her mother moved to Reading, Berkshire with her daughters. Beryl attended Kendrick School there, but left education at fourteen and started to work in a variety of jobs. Having moved to London towards the end of the Second World War, Beryl attempted working as a model and showgirl. In 1948, she married her childhood friend John Cook, who was in the merchant navy. When he retired from the sea, they briefly ran a pub in Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk. Their son John was born in 1950, and in 1956, the family left to live in Southern Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe). They remained in Africa for the next decade, where in 1960 Cook produced her first painting, Hangover. The family returned to England in the mid-sixties and moved to East Looe, Cornwall in 1965, where Beryl focused more on her painting. They then moved to Plymouth in 1968, where they bought a guest house on the Hoe. Cook shared her time between running the guest house and producing ever more paintings. In the mid-seventies, her works caught the attention of one