Gordon Crook

Born in Richmond, Surrey in the UK, Gordon Crook had a shiftless childhood which culminated, at 17, in his enlistment in the Merchant Navy. Subsequently he served in the RAF during the Second World War. After the war he received a grant to study at St Martin’s School of Art, London, and this led to a degree in textile design from the Central School of Art and Design.

From graduation until 1972 Gordon lived in London balancing freelance design work with teaching at both the Central School and the Royal College of Art. Through this period he also exhibited ceramics, drawings, paintings, and tapestries, but his lifestyle remained precarious. Incidentally, one of his students was New Zealander John Drawbridge.

At the age of 51 Gordon decided to emigrate to Aotearoa, choosing to live in Wellington. There he is said to have found greater stability. In 1979 he received his first substantial commission for 20 banners to adorn the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, then under construction, designed by Warren and Mahoney. This was followed, from 1981 to 1989, with a second commission for Michael Fowler Centre banners (Wellington), also designed by Warren and Mahoney.

Gordon’s work has been presented in several solo exhibitions and was profiled by at least two television interviews. In 2010 Clare O'Leary directed the documentary 'Gordon Crook: A Life of Art,' which premiered at the New Zealand International Film Festival. Crook passed away one year later, in 2011, in Wellington.

See also:

• Gordon Crook (wikipedia page)
• Gordon Crook, artworks (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki website)
• 'Gordon Crook: A Life of Art' (film trailer)
• ‘Gordon Crook: Images, Symbols, Dreams’ (exhibition page, City Gallery Wellington, 2 Dec 1993–30 Jan 1994)