Body and Soul

A student at Goldsmiths College and the Royal College of Art, Eileen Cooper RA became well known in the 1980s for her strong and passionate figuration. Her unapologetically female approach to her subject-matter encompasses sexuality, motherhood, life and death.

She was elected a Royal Academician in 2001 and served as Keeper of the Royal Academy between 2010 and 2017, the first woman in the institution’s history to do so.

This lovely new sketchbook reveals Cooper’s fascination with the female body in various media, from pencil and crayon to charcoal and gouache, and celebrates her work in all its joyful intimacy.