Latham and Cook

         A couple of weeks ago I featured some block prints by Barbara Latham, which you can revisit here.  At the end of the post I foreshadowed another fun fact about Latham, and that’s the subject of today’s post.  Latham was married to Howard Norton Cook, another block print artist whose work you can revisit in two previous posts, here and here.  What’s especially fun about a couple who are both artists is that they can make portraits of each other, and that’s what I'm presenting today.

        Of the four examples I have, three are by Howard and depict Barbara, although the first one shows both of them.  I really love the self-deprecating humor of this one, showing the couple in a most un-artistic activity.  Although it’s rather rough in style, it’s still got lots of fun details, like the snake in the foreground and the rider looking on from the background.  I especially like the swirl of smoke, and the body postures are perfect.  This was made the same year they were married.

        Next, Howard depicts Barbara as a classic bathing beauty.  I love the lighting and shadows on this one, and how simplified shapes evoke the form and setting.  And although I suppose a classic painting would have made the woman nude, I actually think this seems more intimate, because a nude would have looked self-consciously posed for the art market, while this seems more like a snapshot of daily life.  Plus I really love the vintage bathing suit.

        Continuing in chronological order, next is another portrait of Barbara by Howard, and another casual daily moment.  Here Barbara is reading the newspaper, maybe in bed.  The lamp is suspended in space, its base or wall arm invisible behind its own light.  All the wrinkles of fabric are masterful, as are the panels on the door, but I’m not entirely convinced by the thin white outlines of the facial features, especially the mouth.

        Finally, we have a portrait of Barbara and Howard by Barbara, depicting the couple on Christmas Eve, for a holiday card.  I’m amused that Howard is playing the accordion - Christmas carols, no doubt.  Although Barbara’s back is to the viewer, her face is visible in the mirror over the table.  This one is not an engraving, and thus has less fine shading than the two above.  The Philadelphia Museum of Art dates this piece to 1926, but The Museum of New Mexico Press dates it to 1933.  I’m assuming the latter date must be 

correct, because the couple only met in 1926 and weren’t yet married, so I don’t think they’d call themselves “the Cooks.”

        Once before I featured another block printmaking power couple, William and Marguerite Zorach.  In that post I commented that I’m fascinated by what it would be like to be married to another artist (especially, in the Zorachs’ case, one who shared the same style).  I love to see Howard and Barbara featuring each other in their art, making it feel like this was something that they shared and supported each other in.

[Pictures: Barbara Latham, Howard Cook, woodcut by Howard Cook, 1927 (Image from Smithsonian American Art Museum);

Barbara in Bathing Suit, wood engraving by Cook, 1929 (Image from Smithsonian AAM);

Barbara at Home, wood engraving by Cook, 1930 (Image from Smithsonian AAM);

Greetings from the Cooks, woodcut, probably 1933 (Image from Philadelphia Museum of Art).]