Gordon Cook
American, born 1940Untitled, 1968
Not on view
Pencil on paper
Dimensions10 × 6 3/8 in. (25.4 × 16.2 cm)
Image: 9 5/8 × 5 1/2 in. (24.4 × 14 cm)
Gift of Karen McCarthy, 2011.186
This drawing by Gordon Cook illustrates the simple economy of line that some contemporary artists explore. Simple lines not only delineate forms but also illustrate dimension. Notice how the two lines that distinguish the figure’s right arm also indicate its placement in front of the torso and left leg, thus creating depth.
Gordon Cook was born in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington where he received his B.F.A in 1950. Cook then went on to study fundamentals and life drawing at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and intaglio printmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He took graduate courses at the State University of Iowa. Cook spent much of his career teaching at colleges throughout California, participating in small drawing groups, and exhibiting his work throughout the United States.
