Exhibition is the most extensive of her work to date
It’s been 100 years since the birth of Beryl Cook (1926-2008). She was once named as being Britain’s most popular painter – and organisers of a new exhibition say she’s finally receiving the serious artistic recognition that eluded her during her lifetime.
The Box Plymouth is holding a landmark exhibition, Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy opens on 24 January 2026 and aims to fundamentally reassess her significance as a chronicler of everyday life during Britain’s most tumultuous period of social transformation.
The exhibition will run until 31st May 2026 and is set to be the most extensive of her work to date.
It features more than 80 paintings alongside rarely seen sculptures, textiles, and unprecedented access to her personal archive of thousands of photographs, sketches, and correspondence.
The exhibition includes loaned work from Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Glasgow Life, Government Art Collection, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Holburne Museum, the Beryl Cook Estate and private collectors.
It comes at a pivotal moment as 2026 marks not only Cook’s centenary but also 50 years since the 1976 Sunday Times feature that launched her career following her first exhibition at Plymouth Arts Centre in 1975.
Since then, her work’s been exhibited continuously and internationally. She produced an estimated 500 paintings during her lifetime, many of which have become instantly recognisable through their wide commercial success.
While her colourful, seemingly cheerful paintings made her beloved by millions, critics consistently dismissed her work as mere kitsch. Pride and Joy argues for a radical reassessment.
Back Bar of the Lockyer Tavern by Beryl Cook. Courtesy of www.ourberylcook.com Image: © John Cook 2025 (provided by The Box Plymouth)
‘Documenting communities and identities’
Inspiration for her work included women in bingo halls, plus-size bodies celebrating their physicality and the city’s nightlife.
‘Beryl Cook wasn’t painting caricatures,’ says Terah Walkup, Curator at The Box. ‘She was documenting communities and identities that were actively marginalised, and 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.’
