Eileen Cooper

Eileen Cooper OBE RA became a Royal Academician in 2001 and served as Keeper of the Royal Academy between 2010 and 2017, making her the first woman in the history of the Academy to do so.

Born in Glossop, in the Derbyshire Peak District in 1953, Cooper studied at Goldsmiths College from 1971-1974 and then attended the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1977. She has been a visiting lecturer at institutions including St Martins, Royal College of Art and Royal Academy Schools, and was also the coordinator of the RA's 2017 Summer Exhibition.

Cooper's first solo exhibition was held in 1979 at the Air Gallery, London. Subsequent exhibitions were held throughout the UK including regular exhibitions at Benjamin Rhodes Gallery and Art First, London from 1988.