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George Cooke (painter)
Encyclopedia
George Cooke was an itinerant
United States
painter who specialized in portrait
and landscape
paintings and was one of the South
's best known painters of the mid nineteenth century. His primary patron was the industrialist Daniel Pratt
, who built a gallery in Prattville, Alabama
solely to house Cooke's paintings.
, Cooke abandoned a fledgling career in business at an early age in order to become a full time artist. After several years of painting portraits for a living, Cooke left for what would become a five year tour of Europe. His time there was mostly spent learning from and copying the works of the Renaissance
master artists, with many of Cooke's copies being sent back to the United States for show or sale.
At some time between 1826 and 1830, he made a copy in Paris of The Raft of the Medusa, a monumental painting by Théodore Géricault
depicting a notorious incident following a shipwreck. Cooke's smaller version (4' x 6') was shown in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C, to crowds, who knew about the controversy surrounding subject. Reviews favoured the painting, which also stimulated plays, poems, performances and a children's book. It was bought by a former admiral, Uriah Phillips, who left it in 1862 to the New York Historical Society
, where it was miscatalogued as by Gilbert Stuart
and remained inaccessible, until the mistake was uncovered in 2006, after an enquiry by Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, professor of art history at the University of Delaware
. The university's conservation department undertook restoration of the work.
After returning to the U.S., Cooke and his wife spent the next decade traveling and working with no fixed home. His work took him throughout the Southern United States, where he primarily made his living painting portraits of both famous and ordinary people, and, by the 1840s, his portraits had earned him both financial success and regional fame.
In 1844 in New Orleans, Cooke started what would become his most important professional relationship when he met Alabama industrialist
Daniel Pratt. Pratt was immediately drawn to Cooke's work, and decided to give the artist two floors in one of his warehouses for Cooke to use as a gallery and studio. After a few years, Pratt decided to take the unusual step of adding a separate gallery to his home in Prattville, Alabama, solely to house Cooke's art. Pratt also commissioned Cooke to paint what would become his best known work, the Interior of St. Peter's Rome, a giant painting based on a smaller piece that Cooke had previously painted during his travels in Europe. In 1867, Pratt donated Interior of St. Peter's Rome to the University of Georgia
, where it still hangs today in the University's chapel
. At 17 by 23.5 feet, the work was said to be the largest framed oil painting
in the world at the time of its donation, and it still ranks among the world's largest.
and died rapidly of the illness.
Nearly twenty years after his death, the gallery in Pratville was found to be infested with dry rot
and had to be torn down to prevent the rot from spreading. As a result, all of Cooke's work housed at the gallery wound up being destroyed or dispersed. It was this threat that prompted Daniel Pratt to donate Interior of St. Peter's Rome to the University of Georgia.
Itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home. The term comes from the late 16th century: from late Latin itinerant , from the verb itinerari, from Latin iter, itiner ....
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter who specialized in portrait
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
and landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
paintings and was one of the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
's best known painters of the mid nineteenth century. His primary patron was the industrialist Daniel Pratt
Daniel Pratt
Daniel Pratt pioneered ventures that opened the door for industry in the U.S. state of Alabama. Prattville in Autauga County and Birmingham's Pratt City in Jefferson County are both named for him...
, who built a gallery in Prattville, Alabama
Prattville, Alabama
Prattville is a city in Autauga and Elmore counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 33,960. Nicknamed "The Fountain City" due to the many artesian wells in the area, Prattville is part of the Montgomery metropolitan statistical area and serves as...
solely to house Cooke's paintings.
Early career and fame
Born in MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Cooke abandoned a fledgling career in business at an early age in order to become a full time artist. After several years of painting portraits for a living, Cooke left for what would become a five year tour of Europe. His time there was mostly spent learning from and copying the works of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
master artists, with many of Cooke's copies being sent back to the United States for show or sale.
At some time between 1826 and 1830, he made a copy in Paris of The Raft of the Medusa, a monumental painting by Théodore Géricault
Théodore Géricault
Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings...
depicting a notorious incident following a shipwreck. Cooke's smaller version (4' x 6') was shown in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C, to crowds, who knew about the controversy surrounding subject. Reviews favoured the painting, which also stimulated plays, poems, performances and a children's book. It was bought by a former admiral, Uriah Phillips, who left it in 1862 to the New York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...
, where it was miscatalogued as by Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...
and remained inaccessible, until the mistake was uncovered in 2006, after an enquiry by Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, professor of art history at the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
. The university's conservation department undertook restoration of the work.
After returning to the U.S., Cooke and his wife spent the next decade traveling and working with no fixed home. His work took him throughout the Southern United States, where he primarily made his living painting portraits of both famous and ordinary people, and, by the 1840s, his portraits had earned him both financial success and regional fame.
Daniel Pratt's patronage
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Daniel Pratt. Pratt was immediately drawn to Cooke's work, and decided to give the artist two floors in one of his warehouses for Cooke to use as a gallery and studio. After a few years, Pratt decided to take the unusual step of adding a separate gallery to his home in Prattville, Alabama, solely to house Cooke's art. Pratt also commissioned Cooke to paint what would become his best known work, the Interior of St. Peter's Rome, a giant painting based on a smaller piece that Cooke had previously painted during his travels in Europe. In 1867, Pratt donated Interior of St. Peter's Rome to the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, where it still hangs today in the University's chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. At 17 by 23.5 feet, the work was said to be the largest framed oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
in the world at the time of its donation, and it still ranks among the world's largest.
Death and the dispersal of his work
George Cooke's health had never been very good, and in 1849 in New Orleans, he contracted choleraCholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and died rapidly of the illness.
Nearly twenty years after his death, the gallery in Pratville was found to be infested with dry rot
Dry rot
Dry rot refers to a type of wood decay caused by certain types of fungi, also known as True Dry Rot, that digests parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness...
and had to be torn down to prevent the rot from spreading. As a result, all of Cooke's work housed at the gallery wound up being destroyed or dispersed. It was this threat that prompted Daniel Pratt to donate Interior of St. Peter's Rome to the University of Georgia.