Eileen Cooper, OBE, RA, was born in Glossop, England, in 1953. After studying at Goldsmiths College from 1971-1974, and later the Royal College of Art, she taught in several major arts institutes across the UK from 1977 onwards. In 2005 she was made Head of Printmaking at the Royal Academy. From 2010-2017 she was elected Keeper of the Royal Academy and was the first woman to fill this role.
The first major appearance of her work in Scotland was her show at Glasgow Print Studio in 2004 entitled Painting, Prints and Drawing. Since then she has published numerous print publications with Glasgow Print Studio.
Cooper's prints are steeped in a distinctive expressionism; her highly personal style always reflects stages in her own life that readily associate with archetypal themes and mythologies. A playful spirit pervades the work, and her figures are depicted with a linear vibrancy and a luminosity that is explosive in its aliveness, passion and tenderness.
