Vigneron and painter was born in Claremont, Western Australia and educated at Thomas Street School followed by Fremantle Technical School around 1920-21 under Muriel Southern. Cook also took a commercial art diploma by correspondence and later had lessons from Margaret Saunders and in the 1950s-60s he had further classes – adult education – with the influential Henry Froudist.
Cook exhibited with the West Australian Society of Arts and later with the Perth Society of Artists. George Benson, the painter and critic, described his work in 1931 as “Distinctly promising”. In 1933 he exhibited oil paintings in the landscape competition of the West Australian Society of Arts as well as charcoal drawings, tempera paintings and pencil drawings. Benson wrote of this work, “Two oils are shown by Allon Cook Herne Hill from the Darling Ranges and Autumn, each is a great improvement on the work he showed last year though 'Autumn’ is not altogether suggestive of 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’. Two landscapes in body colour or tempura, reveal his tendency to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, the late Delafield Cook.”
In 1934 Cook exhibited an oil painting of “Whiteman’s Brickyard”, a watercolour of “Belvoir” and a drawing of Fremantle. He developed into a competent painter who won the Claude Hotchin Art Prize for oil painting on three occasions, 1950, 1951 and 1958. Cook was a friend of Cyril Lander and they held several exhibitions together.
- Writers:
- Dr Dorothy Erickson
- Date written:
- 2010
- Last updated:
- 2011
