Bertie and the Big Red Ball

French Bulldogs are responsible for encounters with many delightful people and  discoveries in my life.  One is to have found Beryl Cook's laugh-out-loud paintings through Bertie and the Big Red Ball by Beryl Cook and Edward Lucie-Smith (John Murray/Gallery Five London; Viking Penguin NY 1982).

Beryl Cook died on 28 May 2008 aged 81.  She was described by the English Book and Magazine Collector as "... one of Britain's most popular painters with her pictures of 'fat ladies' ... She produced over a dozen books and compilations of her artworks ...".

Bertie and the Big Red Ball is a splendid children's book which became well-known to many French Bulldog owners through such writings as those of Colette Seror-Secher in The French Bullytin (Vol 2 no 4 Winter 1984 pp 26, 27) and Dick Bowgen in both the English publication The French Bulldog (no 2 August 1985 pp 37, 38) and in The French Bullytin (Vol 4 no 1 September 1985 pp 41, 42).

If you have never seen this book, it is a delight for any Frenchie owner, with splendid Beryl Cook full-page color illustrations, most featuring Bertie.

In 1982 to coincide with the book's publication there was an exhibition of the paintings from Bertie and the Big Red Ball at the Portal Gallery London.  (The Portal Gallery exhibited Beryl Cook's works from 1977 right up to the eighteenth Beryl Cook London exhibition titled Beryl Cook at 80! in 2006.)

Bertie the French Bulldog first made his debut in 1980 in Private View by Beryl Cook (John Murray London 1980; Viking Penguin NY 1981).  He appears on the very last page, going up stairs and looking back.  The owner of Bertie, art critic and writer Edward Lucie-Smith (he wrote the text for Bertie and the Big Red Ball) stated about Beryl Cook in his Foreword to Private View:

"And what an observer Beryl Cook is!  It so happens that I was present when the ideas for two of the paintings in the present collection germinated.  One is a portrait of my dog,
a French bulldog called Bertie.  Beryl came to see me for the first time, and he bounded up the stairs ahead of her, wearing his winter coat which is made from an old scarf.  A few days later his picture arrived in the post.  The picture called Leather Bar had its beginnings the same evening.  I took Beryl and her husband John to a pub.  There was a fight, and we saw someone being thrown out by the bouncers."

The point about these two incidents is that they both happened in a flash.  No  one was carrying a camera; there was no opportunity to make sketches.  But somehow the essentials of the scene registered themselves indelibly with Beryl, and she was able to record them later in an absolutely convincing and authoritative way.

The fact is she has two very rare gifts, not one.  She has a magnificent visual memory, and at the same time she is able to compress, re-arrange and simplify what she sees until it makes a completely convincing composition.  Bertie's portrait, with its plump backside and bow legs, is more like Bertie than his reflection in a mirror;  it catches the absolute essentials of his physique and personality."

In 1981 a painting of Bertie curled up in the cat's basket, appeared on the title page of Beryl's One Man Show (John Murray London 1981; Viking Penguin NY 1982).

Inside there is a splendid painting of Bertie arriving at a railway station with two of Beryl Cook's friends Ted and Heinrich " ... where we had gone to meet them.  I loved the effect of the fur coat, the cloak, and Bertie straining at the leash, and I decided to celebrate it all with a picture." (to quote Beryl).

Beryl Cook became so popular that Gallery Five in London reproduced some of her paintings in large greeting card form.  These included at least three of Bertie. "Hello Handsome" has Bertie admiring himself in a mirror. Another card has half-a-dozen dogs in and around a red sports car, with Bertie amongst them, leaning on the car in proprietorial fashion.





                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   "Checking up" sees Bertie trying to turn a tortoise over in the garden.  (The Bertie cards are well-worth looking out for, as is the book.)

The Books of Beryl Cook was an article published after Beryl Cook's death in the English Book and Magazine Collector (no 299 October 2008).  Written by David Howard, it's a most interesting and readable eleven-page article with sixteen color reproductions (unfortunately no Bertie), about Beryl's life and success ... and of course her books.

In the magazine's usual format, at the end of the article there is a bibliography and price guide to current (October 2008) values in England for the English first editions "in Fine condition without (and with) dust jackets."

Bertie and the Big Red Ball (laminated boards) is shown as fifteen to twenty pounds sterling.  Private View in dust jacket has that price guide amount and One Man Show had twenty pounds without and thirty pounds with dust jacket.

('Fine' is meant to be one-down from 'mint' or perfect/as new.  'Fine' indicates near-perfect condition but closer examination may show evidence of ownership and storage, very slight rubbing on the dust jacket corners etc.)

Given that Bertie and the Big Red Ball is known in French Bulldog circles and that Beryl Cook's death has resulted in further publicity, the book may become scarcer and more expensive, despite these troubled times.

The World of Beryl Cook with contributions by Jess Wilder and Jerome Sans (Prestel 2007) was a 160 page softcover to coincide with the largest exhibition of Beryl Cook's work, held at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Newcastle England from 13 July to 2 September 2007.   A beautifully produced book (printed in Germany), for anyone who has enjoyed Beryl Cook's paintings and sense of humor with Bertie and the Big Red Ball, this is a must (despite the absence of Bertie paintings).  The 20 page Introduction by Jess Wilder (Portal Gallery) who represented Beryl Cook for over thirty years, is a marvelous illustrated story about Beryl and her work.

One friend (Barbara Ker-Seymer) wrote to Beryl "You really have the art of being very funny indeed without being the least bit malicious.  A very rare quality."  Jess Wilder wrote "Beryl never patronises, she just captures the moment ... Beryl is never tempted to caricature; her people are always completely real."  The book itself, with over a hundred pages of full color plate reproductions, is time-stopping and a comic delight.  Near the book's end is an interview with Beryl Cook by Jerome Sans of BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, which reveals how modest and down-to-earth Beryl was.

To end with a quote from David Howard's The Books of Beryl Cook article, referring to the Portal Gallery in London and her exhibitions there:  "Over the years, it's been a common sight to see passers-by stop on the pavement outside the gallery and break into guffaws of laughter at Beryl's paintings exhibited in the window.  That's something I'm sure Beryl would have loved … Beryl Cook may no longer be with us but the world she revealed is still there."
 
Here is the back of the book
(for those who are not lucky enough to have a copy).