Eileen Cooper (born 10 June 1953) is a British artist, known primarily as a painter and printmaker.

Early life

Cooper was born in Glossop, Derbyshire and attended Ashton-under-Lyne College of Further Education. She went on to study at Goldsmiths College (1971-1974) and the Royal College of Art (1974-1977) gaining an MA in painting.

Career

Between 1977 and 2000 she was visiting lectures at arts schools across the UK including Falmouth School of Art, Leicester College of Art & Design, St Martin’s School of Art, Camberwell College of Arts, and City & Guilds of London Art School. She lectured on Printmaking at the Royal College of Art between 1994 and 2006 and became Head of Printmaking at the Royal Academy Schools in 2005 until 2010. She was elected a Royal Academician in 2001. From 2010 to 2017, 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 in the Royal Academy's 250-year history. In 2017, Cooper curated and co-ordinated the Royal Academy of Arts' 249th annual Summer Exhibition. After ending her teaching role at the Royal Academy Schools in 2017 Cooper returned to drawing from life and portraiture in particular. Two of the works from this series (one of fellow Royal Academician Cathie Pilkington and the other a self-portrait) were acquired by the National Portrait Gallery.

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

Selected public collections

Awards and honours

Publications

Television and broadcast