Exhibition celebrates Beryl Cook and her love for Plymouth

January 23, 2026 admin Entertainment 0

Emma RuminskiSouth West arts reporter

The Box A sailor sculpture in the style of Beryl Cook's paintings sits with his arms crossed. He's wearing a white hat and is smiling. The Box

Alongside the exhibition, sculptures based on Beryl Cook’s artworks will be placed in places in Plymouth that inspired the artist

A hundred years after her birth, a retrospective of Plymouth artist Beryl Cook’s work is being put on in her adopted home city.

Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy at The Box, aims to bring serious artistic recognition to an artist whose colourful and comedic paintings of the daily life of the city’s residents, were often dismissed by critics.

The free exhibition follows on the heels of international shows in both New York and Los Angeles and aims to celebrate the artist’s love of the city where she lived for 40 years.

It aims to reframe her as a documenter of the city’s working class, LGBTQ+ communities and nightlife.

A self-taught artist, Cook painted 500 pictures during her life time (1926-2008) and enjoyed commercial success.

She received fan mail from around the world, some of the letters are in the exhibition.

Her plus-size subjects were joyous drag queens, women, sailors and old ladies all having a good time on nights out, in Plymouth shopping, playing cards or bingo.

The title of the exhibition is written across a wall next to it is Beryl Cook's painting of women bowling on the Hoe.

The entrance to the exhibition; Beryl Cook, Pride and Joy at The Box in Plymouth

Interviewed in a pub for the BBC South West documentary Union Street in 1985, Cook said: “To be able to paint, I really need to see everything that’s going on.”

She added: “I love all the groups of girls all coming down together and the fellas all in groups.”

Laughing, beer in hand, she admitted; “I’d love a flat over Kentucky Fried Chicken.

“Just so we could sit in the window at night and watch everything.”

The Box describes Cook as a “cultural chronicler” who painted marginalised people and recorded their lives with joy, kindness and reverence.

Terah Walkup, who curated the exhibition, said: “She did it with genuine affection, technical mastery and unflinching honesty.

“Her work from the 1970s to 2000s captures working-class joy, body positivity, and queer culture with a sophistication that’s only now being fully recognised.”

A woman with grey hair and glasses smiles at the camera. She is stood in front of a sculpture being painted behind her.

Theresa Cook, Beryl’s daughter-in-law, is very excited about the large scale models and came to see them in the workshop

This exhibition features about 80 paintings alongside small sculptures, textiles, plus a personal archive of photographs, sketches and letters.

The artist’s daughter-in-law, Theresa Cook, said: “A lot more people volunteered their paintings [for the exhibition] than there was space.

“Some of the paintings we’ve never seen.”

She added: “Beryl used to miss her paintings when they were gone. She would have loved to have seen them all together in The Box.”

A woman paints the dark hair of the sculpture Tom who is dancing. He does not have any features yet. The face is still to be painted

Work in progress: A scenic artist paints a sculpture’s hair at the TR2 workshop in Cattedown

Her work is also being brought to life in 3D with the installation of life-size sculptures – made by the Theatre Royal’s set building department at TR2 – as part of a trail around Plymouth.

They have been placed in the four locations that inspired the artwork they are based on, in the hope the public will interact with them, because Cook’s work was all about having fun.

Seb Soper, head of project development at TR2, said: “One of the ideas that came out collectively, is that these will be sculptures you’d want to do a selfie with.”

The images are courtesy of www.ourberylcook.com © John Cook 2025

John Cook 2025 Sailors and Seagulls is a painting featuring a group of sailors in blue uniforms and white hats squeezed on to a bench. Seagulls sit on the railings in front of them.John Cook 2025
John Cook 2025 A mum dressed in blue with platform heels drags a bag on wheels behind her while pushing a baby in a buggy. Behind her is a busy produce market.John Cook 2025

Sailors and Seagulls by Beryl Cook. One of the jolly sailors will take up residence on the bench outside The Dolphin pub on Southside Street on The Barbican.

The Market by Beryl Cook. The shopper in the foreground has been made into a sculpture and placed outside the Pannier Market on Frankfort Gate. But her trolley style shopping bag on wheels has been changed to a leopard skin one for the sculpture version.

Ms Cook said the exhibition was Cook’s grandaughter’s idea: “Sophie [Howe] went to The Box and said it’s going to be a hundred years [since Cook was born] and they took that up.

“It’s the perfect time to do it.”

Referring to the sculpture trail, Ms Howe, said: “These sculptures are such a fitting tribute to Beryl in her centenary year.

“She loved Plymouth and Plymouth loved her back.

“Seeing her characters come to life in the actual places she painted them – The Hoe, the pubs, the market – would have absolutely delighted her. “

The sailor sculpture waiting for its features to be added in while being painted at TR2. It is based on Beryl Cook’s painting Sailors & Seagulls and will be placed outside the Dolphin pub on The Barbican.

Mini maquettes; preliminary sculptures of what the larger form pieces would look like. The scenery artists work from these.

Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy is on at The Box in Plymouth from 24 January until 31 May.

Admission is free, but visitors need to book a ticket for a guaranteed time slot.

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