Samuel Cook (1806–1859) was an English

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

artist.

Life

He was born in at

Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. At the age of nine he was apprenticed to a firm of woollen manufacturers in the town, where during the intervals of his duties he would amuse himself with making drawings in chalk on the floor of the factory, to the annoyance of his employers, one of whom declared that "he would never be fit for anything but a

limner A limner is an illuminator of manuscripts, or more generally, a painter of ornamental decoration. A mention of medieval limners' work appears in the book ''Methods and Materials of Painting'' by Charles Lock Eastlake (1793–1865). United Ki ...

". On the expiry of his apprenticeship he went to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, where he set up as a painter and

glazier A glazier is a tradesperson responsible for cutting, installing, and removing glass (and materials used as substitutes for glass, such as some plastics).Elizabeth H. Oakes, ''Ferguson Career Resource Guide to Apprenticeship Programs'' ( Infoba ...

. Every hour he could snatch from business, however, was devoted to sketching from nature. In 1830 he became a member of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours (now the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours), to whose annual exhibition he became a regular contributor, chiefly of coastal scenes, until his death 1859. An obituary in ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'' said of him:

Always weak as a colourist, and especially so when his pictures hung in juxtaposition with some of the deeptoned works of his contemporaries...
there was yet in them such quiet, simple truth, and so much real artistic feeling united with skilful manipulation, that it was impossible to study them and not be convinced they were the productions of one possessing refined taste, poetical conception, knowledge of natural effects, and sound judgment in the management of subject matter.

A view of ''Stonehouse, Plymouth'' by him is in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Samuel Place of death missing 1806 births 1859 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters English watercolourists People from Camelford 19th-century English male artists