Blast Boadicea, 1966

Jean Cooke RA (1927 - 2008)

RA Collection: Art

Cooke painted many self-portraits throughout her career. She wrote: ‘Sometimes I paint self-portraits to show off, sometimes to hide away in solitude, sometimes to say ‘Here I am’, sometimes to say ‘I want to be alone’. But always there is a searching for the unknown, the previously unperceived.’

Cooke explained that she started this self-portrait wearing an old-fashioned brass fireman’s helmet, but when her husband gave the helmet away she nearly gave up. However on seeing the picture in the bay window from outside the house Cooke decided to continue, convinced that ‘whatever it is, it is a very strong image.’