Richard Cook R.A. (British, 1784–1857)

Richard Cook R.A. (British, 1784–1857)

Caught in the Storm

Oil on Canvas

• Provenance; Christie's London.  With an old and indistinct Christie's stencil on the stretcher verso.
• Painting - 56cm x 56cm
• Frame - 74cm x 74cm 

Notes

A fine and rare example of the work of Richard Cook depicting a girl caught in a storm with lightning over a church beyond.  The painting is not signed though with an old label verso with the artist's name and some biographical details.  The painting has previously been with Christie's and with an old and indistinct Christie's stencil on the stretcher verso.

Condition

The canvas not lined though with a patched repair upper left and with several small wax repairs.  Clean, most attractive, well framed and ready to hang.

Artist Information

Richard Cook was an English artist.  Cook was born in London in 1784, and entered the schools of the Royal Academy in 1800. He was a constant contributor to the exhibitions from 1808 to 1822, during which time he painted several landscapes, scenes from The Lady of the Lake, and in 1817, having been elected an Associate in the preceding year, a more ambitious work, entitled Ceres, Disconsolate for the Loss of Proserpine. It is now in the collection of the Royal Academy. A contemporary critic described it as "an elegant and well painted illustration of this well known subject", adding that "the architectural accessories are better than English painters are in the habits of using, and are in themselves correct and appropriate".  In 1822 he became a Royal Academician, and almost from that time forward, and certainly for many years preceding his death, he seems to have abandoned painting, and ceased to contribute to the annual exhibitions of the Academy, his private fortune enabling him to live independently of his art. He died in London in 1857.