William Orpen - Portrait of Sir Herbert Cook, 1923

Sir Herbert Frederick Cook, 3rd Baronet (18 November 1868 – 4 May 1939) was an English art patron and art historian.

Life

Only son of

Sir Frederick Cook ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only ...

, he was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

. He was subsequently called to the Bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1895. He married in 1898 to the Honourable Mary Hood, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Bridport, with whom he had one son (

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

, who succeeded him) and two daughters. In 1920, he succeeded to his father's

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, along with the first baronet's art collection, which he catalogued in three volumes in 1913 and which thereafter became known in art history publications as the "Cook Collection, Doughty House, Richmond". Though he was not a major collector himself, he did add

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally co ...

’s ''Portrait of a boy'' (

Norton Simon Foundation The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Ov ...

) and

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, n ...

’s '' Portrait of a lady'' (

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Cook Collection

He was an art historian who wrote a catalog raisonné of

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quali ...

works in 1900, and managed and hosted visits to his family's collection which included a

Cima da Conegliano Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school, though he was also influenced by Antonello da ...

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...

'' and two Giorgiones at

Doughty House Doughty House is a large house on Richmond Hill in Richmond, London, England, built in the 18th century, with later additions. It has fine views down over the Thames, and both the house and gallery are Grade II listed buildings. The house was ...

. He was a co-founder of

The Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

, and in 1903 was founding member of the "Consultative Committee" of the ''

Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...

''.Pan-Giorgionism: Herbert Frederick Cook (1868-1939) as art writer.
Retrieved 01-01-2018 Other members were

Lord Dillon Viscount Dillon, of Costello- Gallen in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Theobald Dillon, Lord President of Connaught. The Dillons were a Hiberno-Norman landlord family from the 13th century ...

and Lord Balcarres, Sir Martin Conway,

Sidney Colvin Sir Sidney Colvin (18 June 1845 – 11 May 1927) was a British curator and literary and art critic, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family. He is primarily remembered for his friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson. Family and early ...

Campbell Dodgson Campbell Dodgson, CBE DLitt Hon RE (13 August 1867 – 11 July 1948) was a British art historian and museum curator. He was the Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum in 1912–32. Biography Student Campbell Dodgson was the eig ...

Herbert Horne Herbert Percy Horne (1864 in London – 1916 in Florence, Italy) was an English poet, architect, typographer and designer, art historian and antiquarian. He was an associate of the Rhymers' Club in London. He edited the magazines '' The Cent ...

Charles Eliot Norton Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 – October 21, 1908) was an American author, social critic, and Harvard professor of art based in New England. He was a progressive social reformer and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries ...

Claude Phillips Sir Claude Phillips (29 January 1846 – 9 August 1924) was a British writer, art historian and critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''Manchester Guardian'' and other publications during the late 19th century. He was the first keeper of the Wal ...

, and

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent developm ...

. Later Roger Fry disagreed with some of Cook's optimistic Giorgione attributions, especially Cook's 1913 acquisition of 'La Schiavona', which he catalogued as ''The portrait of Caterina Cornaro by Giorgione (finished by Titian)''. The other Giorgione in his collection that was purchased in 1907, has since been reattributed to

Giovanni Cariani Giovanni Cariani (c. 1490–1547), also known as Giovanni Busi or Il Cariani, was an Italian painter of the high- Renaissance, active in Venice and the Venetian mainland, including Bergamo, thought to be his native city. Overview His father, ...

.catalog entry 137
in 1913 He was a member of the Arundel Club and served on committees for foreign exhibitions and organised several in London. In 1930, he also gave £1000 to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

for the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist col ...

Selected works

*''

'' - 1900 * Volume II, Dutch & Flemish schools,
A catalogue of the paintings at Doughty House, Richmond, & elsewhere in the collection of Sir Frederick Cook, bt., Visconde de Monserrate
', by Cook, Herbert; Borenius, Tancred, 1885-1948; Kronig, J. O., 1887-1984; Brockwell, Maurice W., 1869-1958, on

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

References

External links

* *
Obituary, The Times, 5 May 1939
* http://thepeerage.com/p8092.htm#i80912 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Herbert 1868 births 1939 deaths English philanthropists Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Harrow School English art historians Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom