Tropical Harbor

Original Watercolor by Hereward L. Cooke

Framed

Hereward Lester Cooke (1916–1973) was an American painter.

Cooke was born in Princeton, New Jersey in 1916. He studied at Oxford University, the Art Students League (under George Bridgman), the Yale University School of Fine Art, and Princeton University Graduate School, where he received his Ph.D.

Cooke is known more for his work in art history than for his painting, having written several texts, especially Painting Lessons from the Great Masters in 1967. He was the Curator of Painting at the National Gallery of Art from 1961–1973, and before that a National Gallery Aide and its acting assistant director, beginning in 1956.