Molly Malone Cook (January 5, 1925 – August 25, 2005) was an American photographer. Despite being employed professionally as a photographer for only a short time, Cook left behind an extensive collection of printed photographs and negatives, taken throughout her adult life. Cook worked with and photographed dozens of iconic artists and famous faces such as

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

and

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

Career

Cook's interest in photography began while she was working for the US government in Europe. Upon returning to the United States she was employed as one of the first photographers for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''. ''The Village Voice'' was an alternative weekly publication, which acted as a platform for creatives in New York City, beginning circulation in 1955 and ending in 2018. While creating content for the publication, Cook photographed poet

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

, playwright Lorraine Hansberry, Eleanor Roosevelt,

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...

, writer Norman Mailer, and many other famous artists, writers and icons of the time period. After moving to

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

, with her partner

Mary Oliver Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and the National Book Award in 1992. She found inspiration for her work in nature and had a lifelong habit of solitary walks in th ...

in the 1960s, Cook opened the first photographic gallery on the east coast; the VII Photographers studio. The studio represented many successful photographers such as Bernice Abbott,

Eugene Atget Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and mus ...

, and

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (; March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine ''Art et Décoration'' in 1911 were the first modern ...

. The studio notably sold prints by

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

for $35. At that time, photography was considered an art form by relatively few people; although patrons were frequent, the studio could not be sustained financially, and Cook closed her doors only a few years after opening. Cook moved on to open the East End Bookshop, where she selectively stocked the shelves based on her personal judgment of quality of the literature. In 1966 Cook hired the soon-to-be famous American filmmaker John Waters, with whom she would maintain a relationship for nearly the next 40 years. When her health began showing signs of decline in 1969, Cook closed the bookshop. In the 1970s, Cook worked as a literary agent for Oliver, among other writers, as well as an assistant to Norman Mailer. During her time working as Oliver's agent, at any time that the couple received a telephone call for Oliver, Cook would pretend to be her, and many editors would play along.

Personal life

Cook and Mary Oliver lived together in Provincetown, Massachusetts, after first meeting at the former home of poet Edna St Vincent Millay in the late 1950s. Oliver dedicated many works to Cook, and while accepting the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

in 1992 she publicly thanked Cook, saying "Molly Malone Cook, the best reader anyone could have. She is the light of my life". After Cook's death in 2005, Oliver published ''Our World''; a compilation of Cook's journal entries and photography, accompanied by memories, prose and poetry written by Oliver. Throughout her profession, Cook developed friendships with American artists such as playwright

, writer

and director

. Waters is said to have brought magazines and newspapers to Cook's home every day towards the end of her illness. After being put up for adoption as an infant, Cook spent her adulthood interested in discovering her own ancestry. Cook and Oliver visited Virginia several times with the intent of doing so. Among her discoveries, Cook found that she was related to Judith Jefferson, the aunt of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

. Cook was eventually able to meet her birth parents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Molly Malone 1925 births 2005 deaths Photographers from California American LGBTQ photographers American lesbian artists