Eileen Cooper RA – Maya

A new series of portrait drawings in charcoal, pastel and gouache. Cooper has returned to drawing directly from those close to her in her studio. An intimate distance is created as she celebrates the female presence reflected back with a direct gaze.

The figure of a woman is central to Eileen Cooper’s imagery, sometimes heroine, goddess of myth, mother and lover. Her strong drawing with fluid simplified lines and colourful compositions make her work immediately recognisable.

Cooper’s work has often featured trees and flowers, which have an intense connection to her figures, stretching up into the air, but deeply rooted in the ground. Cooper’s subjects are underpinned by the complex question of human relationships.

Born in the Peak District in 1953, Cooper has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally. Her work is held in many public and private collections including as the Arts Council Collection; The British Museum; The Royal Collection; Victoria & Albert Museum; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; Kunsthalle, Nuremberg; Walpole Library, Yale University.

Studying first at Goldsmiths College (1971-74) and then at the Royal College of Art (1974-77). In 2000 Cooper was elected a Royal Academician. From 2010-17 Cooper served as Keeper of the Royal Academy, one of only 4 officers selected from the 80 Royal Academicians, and with primary responsibility for the Royal Academy Schools, thereby becoming the first woman to be elected to this role since the RA began in 1768.

Due to the individual nature of each print, there maybe some slight colour variances to each print.