ARTHUR M. COOK Arthur M. Cook, is the son of Arthur J. and Mary (Morgan) Cook, two students from Iowa who met at Cornell College. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois on September 15, 1931 and has a sister, Sally, two years younger. When he was ten, the family moved to the Minneapolis area where his father, now retired, was a Savings and Loan examiner; his mother was a school teacher. Mr. Cook's formal art training began at Roosevelt High School under the direction of Mrs. Katrine, a good teacher. At Hamline University, Mr. Cook met Paul Olsen, an art instructor who had a great influence on his future. Mr. Olsen advised him to enroll at the Minneapolis School of Art, where Mr. Olsen also taught, to get a better technical education. As Mr. Cook's ability developed, Mr. Olsen urged him to seek a career in commercial art. Arthur Cook was always a worker. Beginning at age twelve with a paper route, he subsequently held a variety of jobs, working summers and nights while in college. His military experience was eight years in the Naval Air Reserves which he joined when he was seventeen. His first job in commercial art, which he found through a notice on the school bulletin board, was with Howard Lee Studios. When that studio folded, he took two short-term positions, and then settled with Campbell Studios for eight years. In 1961, he went to Honeywell where he was Industrial Art Director. Mrs. Cook, the former Joan Devoy of Minneapolis, acts as wife, homemaker, mother of four teen-aged children, and custodian of Flag, the dog; and also works and goes to school. She and Mr. Cook met, rather reluctantly, on a blind date. From then on neither one had to worry about any more blind dates; they were married a year later, in June, 1953. Mr. Cook's avocations included conservation and painting. He was active in several conservation organizations, including the National and International Wildlife Federations, Ducks Unlimited, the National Audubon Society, and Trout Unlimited. Because of a lack of space and time during the early years of his marriage, Mr. Cook neglected his painting. He became an avid reader of science fiction; but when the family moved to a new home, he began to take an interest in gardening. He took a special interest in wild plants, and gained recognition as a lily hybridizer. During this time he did botanical drawings for the North American Lily Society yearbook. All through the years Mr. Cook's favorite pastimes were hunting and fishing. He always carried a camera when he went, thus combining research for paintings with his pleasure. He was known to jokingly say he takes time off from his avocation of painting to go to work. |
Russell Fink Gallery |