Monday Muse

Interview: Artist Eileen Cooper OBE RA

Interview

Eileen Cooper

Photography

M Southward

07 July 2025

Interview

Eileen Cooper

Photography

M Southward

07 July 2025

Eileen Cooper OBE RA is known for her autobiographical and allegorical works, rich in poetry and steeped in thrilling combinations of colour. Unafraid to confront universal themes – sex, death, motherhood – from a female perspective, Cooper has won worldwide renown in a career that began in the late 1970s. Cooper worked extensively as an educator at the UK’s leading art schools for decades and in 2001 was elected a Royal Academician, later becoming the first female Keeper of the Royal Academy. Her solo exhibition Evergreen is currently on view at the Royal Academy, and her exhibition at Turner’s House Museum with Sinta Tantra, responding to Turner’s House, continues until October. Her work is included in permanent collection displays at the National Portrait Gallery and The Hepworth Wakefield and in 2016 she was awarded an OBE. We asked Cooper what a typical Monday involves, where she goes to seek inspiration in London and how art education changed her life.

THE WICK: What is your typical Monday routine?

Eileen Cooper: Our 10-year-old Schnauzer, Oscar, gets me up early, between 5am and 6am. A cup of tea comes next–I like a leisurely start to the day. At 8am, I take Oscar for a walk. Mondays tend to be a little slower for me to get into the studio, though I’ve often been working over the weekend—every day is a potential workday. At 10:30, I head to a Pilates class, then come back for breakfast and catch up on emails. I spend time thinking about what I’ll work on that day–I’m usually juggling several projects, always in the middle of something. I also have a print studio in Bermondsey which I share with Julia Peintner, my printmaking assistant and now a close friend.

TW: Alongside your practice, you have taught part time Fine Art at Royal College of Art, Central St Martins and the Royal Academy of Arts. You are now a full time artist. What precipitated this shift?

EC: Like many artists of my generation, I supplemented my income for many years with part-time teaching in art schools. There was no real shift: I always prioritised and maintained my practice–teaching nourished my art in many ways. Since stepping away from my teaching role at the RA Schools in 2017, I’ve had more time, not just to make work, but to promote it in a way that I hadn’t before which means working proactively with curators, museums, galleries and collectors.

TW: In 2016, you were awarded an OBE for your services to Art and Art Education. What is the most important role that art education can play in shaping artists and society?

EC: That’s a huge question! I believe art education should be for everyone and that it should begin early, ideally from nursery age, and continue throughout life. People are living longer and when the demands of work and family ease, creativity can offer a new sense of purpose and joy. I’d like to see art schools find and maintain their own identities, to become places where students aren’t pressured to conform to the machinery of costly, outcome-driven education. I’m a big fan of the small, independent art schools, where people can access classes which are often more affordable. I also think mentoring is very important, which I still do independently for fun.

TW: You were the first woman to be elected Keeper of the Royal Academy from 2010-17, in a history that dates back to 1768. How did you encourage innovation and balance the Academy’s heritage and traditions?

EC: This question makes me smile, because the Royal Academy is truly unlike any other institution. It’s a brilliant place, but when I first was elected 25 years ago, it was very different and I was keen to challenge some of its deeply entrenched hierarchies. There were some very old-fashioned attitudes which were quite bizarre! At the RA Schools, I was determined to ensure that the opportunity of free education was open to as wide a group as possible. We also made a point of developing our workshops so the ethos of ‘making’ has thrived among the students. Much has been achieved, but of course, the RA Schools is tiny and no matter how broad your reach, only a select group gains access. Art education changed my life and I saw it as my responsibility to help others access the same transformative opportunity.

“People are living longer and when the demands of work and family ease, creativity can offer a new sense of purpose and joy.”

The Wick Culture - Eileen Cooper, Whirlpool, 2025, Oil on canvas, 91.5 x 122 cm

The Wick Culture - Eileen Cooper, Academician's Room

The Wick Culture - Eileen Cooper, Winter Sun, 2021-2025, Oil on canvas, 154 x 116 cm

The Wick Culture - Eileen Cooper, Turner's House, credit Justin Piperger

TW: You are celebrated for your passion for figuration. What draws you to this subject matter and where do you find you paint best?

EC: My work begins with the female figure. There’s a strong autobiographical element, but also, I hope, a universality. I’ve never worked in a wholly abstract way—although I’m often preoccupied with the formal aspects of building a picture, it’s always the subject that drives the process.I have surprised myself to discover how easily I can work away from my main studio; I find a change in environment reinvigorating. But the studio remains at the heart of my practice: it holds all of my materials, processes and a wealth of unresolved work that I’m constantly returning to.

TW: Your work often weaves together references from mythology, fairy tales, and art history. How do these narratives and themes help you express the female perspective?

EC: Strangely, these themes often develop unconsciously. For example, I might paint a woman beside a tree and only later realise it echoes the myth of Daphne transforming into the laurel. I draw imagery from many sources: the written word, film, music, art, nature, photography, dance, sex, birth, death. Recently, I made a couple of paintings inspired by a Studio Ghibli animation and by Pina Bausch’s ballet Vollmond. I don’t set out to express a ‘female perspective’, that’s something I have little control over.Having raised two sons, I’m especially aware of how gender and childhood play into the stories we inherit and tell.

TW: You recently opened a new solo exhibition at Turner House in Twickenham, Light is Therefore Colour, in collaboration with Sinta Tantra. Why this exhibition and why now?

EC: The simple answer is that we were invited, but it wouldn’t have happened without the support of my gallerist Kristin Hjellegjerde. I’m also always keen to show my work outside traditional gallery spaces, as is Sinta. I started by drawing alone in the house and found myself imagining the many lives that had passed through there and the surrounding countryside. It was a rich experience which brought about a whole new body of work. As a fairy godmother to artists, who would you recommend we look at now? ‘Fairy godmother’—who said that! Actually, I’ve been called that a lot, and during my time asKeeper of the RA Schools, I did sometimes feel as though I could wave a wand and help make great things happen for the students. Of course, I had brilliant colleagues and together we tried to say yes to as many ideas as we could. Right now, I’m excited by a number of emerging artists: Archie Franks, Suleman Aqeel Khilji, Joline Kwakkenbos, Alice MacDonald and Uduehi Imienwanrin to name just a few. Among mid-career artists, I’d like to highlight three recently elected Royal Academicians: Liane Lang, Katherine Jones and Sikelela Owen.

TW: What is the best piece of advice you have received?

EC: Two pieces come to mind. The first comes from Bill Clarke, who was one of my tutors on my foundation course. He told me: ‘Have fun with it–don’t take the easy route, take risks. ’The second comes from my friend, the musician Holly Johnson: ‘Beware who you tread on, on the way up–you’ll meet them on the way down.’ I hope I haven’t trodden on anyone, but I love how that sums up, with great humour, the pecking order that exists in the art world.

TW: Your favourite Culturally Curious spot in London?

EC: Definitely the Intoart Studio in Peckham Levels. I’ve been privileged to visit a few times and it’s so inspiring and grounding to see artists enabled to work with such intensity. It’s a brilliant organisation which is now celebrating 25 years of championing its founding vision: for learning disabled and autistic people to be visible, equal and established artists.

TW: Who is your ultimate Monday Muse?

EC: There are so many amazing people to choose from. My three graces are: Paula Rego for her wicked sense of humour, her great style and incredible body of work. Kathleen Soriano for her vision, generosity, honesty and integrity. Kristin Hjellegjerde for her sheer drive, work ethic, warmth and emotional intelligence. All these women have helped and supported me as well as many other artists. And while I’ve only chosen women here, I want to add that I have been helped, supported and valued for my work by many men along the way.