Howard N. Cook
(1901-1980) Howard Cook devoted a decade of his life to the art of printmaking. He mastered each of the major mediums – etching, aquatint, woodcut, wood engraving, and lithography – and produced outstanding examples of each medium. In the 1940s Cook was well-known for his watercolors, particularly his scenes of the Taos Valley. In later years he also painted oils of Indian dancers, and landscapes that are filled with texture and abstract decoration, and are more involved with rhythm than pictorial accuracy. To create the effect of a dance, for example, he worked out a schematic design whose pulsating vitality relates to the movement of the dancers. This quality of energy in the work itself links Cook's paintings, murals, and prints throughout the subtle changes in his style. "I've always wanted the suggestion of movement in my work," he said.
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