Patrick Cook b. 1949 Weymouth, England, UK

  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
Contemporary newspaper cartoonist, writer and actor.
Name
Patrick Cook
Birth date
1949
Birth place
Weymouth, England, UK
Gender
Male
Roles
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
Residence
  • Sydney, NSW
Other Occupation
  • Puppet operator
  • Actor
  • Writer
Active Period
  • 1971- 2006
Languages
  • English
Is Indigenous
No
Initial Record Data Source
  • Black and white artists

cartoonist, writer and actor, was born in Weymouth, England. He came to Australia as a child. He had no formal art training but instead served his apprenticeship as a student on Sydney university newspapers. His mate Bob Ellis had begun contributing to Nation Review in February 1971 and Cook broke into cartooning there in August [or September acc. Walsh, 24] 1971, e.g. “A kiss will be quite sufficient, Hardy [who is taking off his pants in front of dying Nelson]” 13 May 1972 (ill. Walsh, 114). He worked for the National Times in the late 1970s, e.g. State Types 1978 (ill. King, 236). Two Cook originals of the 1970s are at ML PXD 764.

A prolific cartoonist, using a mapping pen on Hammer 4G paper in 1988 (acc. Foyle 95), Cook has contributed to very many major and minor newspapers and magazines, including Cleo , Two Weeks and Matilda . With David Bromley , Jenny Coopes , Bill Farr , Randy Glusac and Ward O’Neill , he illustrated Alexander Buzo’s Tautology: I don’t want to sound incredulous but I can’t believe it (Penguin, Victoria, 1981). In recent years he has mainly drawn for the Bulletin , where he also writes a weekly satirical column. Indeed, satiric writing has increasingly taken over from the drawing, and he is also a writer and actor for TV (and puppet theatre).

A member of the Australian Black and White Artists’ Club, Cook lives in Glebe, Sydney, married to the comic actor Jean Kitson. He has a large collection of magazines from the 1950s and ’60s and is a longtime fan of Mad . His cartoons have influenced many others, especially Mark Knight who drew for the Melbourne Herald in the late 1980s in a very similar style. He regularly exhibits in the NMA’s annual Bringing the House Down , e.g. two cartoons from the Bulletin – 'Khaki election’ and 'Yes & no’ – in 2001 (NMA website).

Writers:
Kerr, Joan
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2007
associate of
David Bromley
1960
Artist
associate of
Mark Knight
1962
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Bob Ellis
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Alex Buzo
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Jean Kitson
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
spouse of
Jean Kitson
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Jenny Coopes
1945
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Bill Farr
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Lindsay Foyle
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Randy Glusac
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Michael Leunig
1945
Artist (Screen Artist), Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Dean Moore
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Ward O'Neill
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Lawrence David Pickering
1942
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Cathy Wilcox
1963
Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
associate of
Australian Black and White Artists' Club
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
[4 pen and ink drawings and one newsprint and ink drawing]
National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
[two 1970s cartoons]
State Library of New South Wales, Mitchell Library, Sydney, NSW (PXD 764).
[Bjelke-Peterson]
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld.
[one cartoon purchased April 1997]
Date
1997
In INTERIM RECORD (State Library of New South Wales, Mitchell Library, Sydney, NSW).

Bringing the House Down
2001
Exhibition ()
National Museum of Australia/ Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
Artists and cartoonists in black and white
1999
Exhibition ()
S. H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust of Australia (NSW), Sydney, NSW
Citations:
  • (2002), National Museum of Australia website, (Place: Information sourced from)
  • Buzo, Alexander, (1981), Tautology : I don't want to sound incredulous but I can't believe it, (Place: Ringwood, Vic : Penguin)
  • Walsh, Richard, (1993), Ferretabilia : life and times of Nation review, (Place: St Lucia, Qld : University of Queensland Press)
  • Turner, Ann (ed.), (2000), In Their Image, (Place: Canberra, ACT : (National Library of Australia oral history interviews))
  • Stone, Walter, (1973), 50 years of the newspaper cartoon in Australia, (Place: Adelaide, SA : The News, Adelaide in association with the Art Gallery of South Australia, p. 75)
  • King, J., (1979), The other side of the coin : a cartoon history of Australia, (Place: Stanmore, NSW : Cassell Australia)
  • Heimann, Rolf, (1983), No fission : A collection of anti-nuclear cartoons by Australian artists, (Place: Albert Park, Vic : Access Magazine & Melbourne Bookworkers Press)
  • Foyle, Lindsay, (15 November 1988), 'Cartoonists of 1988: What, them worry?', (Place: Sydney, NSW : in the Bulletin, pp 92-99)
  • Cook, Patrick, (1984), Hot and Wet, (Place: Sydney, NSW : Unwin Paperback)
  • Cook, Patrick, (1977), Cook, (Place: Sydney, NSW : Currency Press)
See also:
  • Mutation (see 'Themes'); Nasty Brutish and Short c.1988, original ink drawing, included in S.H. Ervin b/w show 1999.
  • Harry Seidler Retirement Village, published Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 1984, 1, led to Seidler suing the paper; the court case was reported in 19-20 June 1984.