Barrie Cooke facts for kids
Barrie C. Cooke (born 1931, died 2014) was a famous painter. He was born in England but became an Irish artist. He is known for his unique style called abstract expressionism. This means his paintings often showed feelings and ideas rather than exact pictures of things.
Barrie Cooke's Life Story
Barrie Cooke was born in Knutsford, England. His father was English, and his mother was American. He spent some of his childhood in warm places like Jamaica and Bermuda. In 1947, he moved to the United States. There, he studied art history at Harvard University.
In 1954, Barrie moved to Ireland. The next year, he went to Salzburg to study art. He learned from a famous Austrian artist named Oskar Kokoschka.
His Art and Friends
Barrie Cooke's paintings are in many important places. You can find them in museums like the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. His art is also in the Ulster Museum and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Many other public and private collections around the world have his work.
Barrie was good friends with two famous poets: Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney. He even helped illustrate some of their books. For example, he created pictures for Hughes's "The Great Irish Pike" (1982). He also illustrated Heaney's "Bog Poems" (1975).
His Legacy
Barrie Cooke's personal collection of letters and poems is kept safe. This collection is called the Barrie Cooke archive. It includes special letters and poems from his friends, like Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. You can find this archive at Pembroke College, Cambridge.
Barrie Cooke passed away in 2014. He died in Leighlinbridge, which is in County Carlow, Ireland.
Where to See His Art
You can find Barrie Cooke's paintings in these places:
- Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
- The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
- Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery, Birmingham
- Dublin City University: Couple 2
