William Edwards Cook

1881-1959

After growing up in Independence, he attended the Art Institute of Chicago for three years before studying for a short time at the National Academy of Design in New York.

Traveling to Paris in 1903, he first attended the Académie Julian before electing to stay in the company of other American artists in Paris rather than return home. He would remain abroad for the rest of his life except for a few short trips.

The crowning achievement of his artistic career occurred in 1907 when he was permitted to produce a portrait of Pope Pius X – the first American to do so. While this brought him considerable attention, he was relatively unsuccessful as an artist, working at an automobile factory to support himself.

Also becoming a taxi driver, he is well known for teaching famous American writer Gertrude Stein how to drive, allowing her to transport materials for the French war effort.

He is also theorized to have been an agent of the Secret Service, helping to apprehend a group of U.S. Army Thieves.

After WWI, he traveled to the USSR, where he worked with the Red Cross to aid civilians following the 1917 Revolution. Upon his father’s death in 1924, he inherited a significant amount of money, allowing him and his wife to live comfortably without working for the remainder of their lives.

They would spend the last two decades of their lives in the Balearic Islands of Spain, practicing art as a hobby alongside other American expats.