Lelia Maria Smith Cocke Explained

Lelia Maria Smith Cocke (March 18, 1859 – April 5, 1899) was an American painter.

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Cocke was a descendant of Robert "King" Carter and William Thornton.^{[1] [2]} She was the daughter of Francis H. Smith, a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Virginia, and his wife Mary Stuart Smith. She traveled to New York City to further her artistic education, taking lessons at the School of Design for Women at Cooper Union. In 1884 she returned to Virginia;^[3] the following year, in a ceremony at the University of Virginia,^[4] she married attorney Lucian Howard Cocke, a distant cousin,^{[1] [2]} who went on to become the first Democrat elected mayor of Roanoke, Virginia.^{[5] [2]} The couple had four children.^[2] Cocke was active as a portraitist until her death in Roanoke.^[3]

Cocke was relatively prolific despite her short career, producing, according to one estimate, over sixty portraits in all before her death. Of these, many are in the collections of the University of Virginia and Hollins College,^[6] of which latter her father-in-law Charles Lewis Cocke was founder and president.^{[7] [1]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Sorley, Merrow Egerton. Lewis of Warner Hall: The History of a Family, Including the Genealogy of Descendants in Both the Male and Female Lines, Biographical Sketches of Its Members, and Their Descent from Other Early Virginia Families. 1935. Genealogical Publishing Com. Baltimore, MD. 192.
2. Book: Bruce, Philip Alexander. Virginia; rebirth of the Old Dominion, Volume 4. 1928. The Lewis publishing company. New York.
3. Book: Raleigh Lewis Wright. Artists in Virginia before 1900: an annotated checklist. 1983. University Press of Virginia. 978-0-8139-0998-1.
4. Book: John T. Kneebone. Dictionary of Virginia Biography. 1998. Library of Virginia. 978-0-88490-206-5.
5. Book: Barringer, Paul Brandon, James Mercer Garnett, Rosewell Page. University of Virginia: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni, Volume 2. 1904. Lewis Publishing Co.. New York. 117.
6. Book: Patricia Mathews. Virginia women artists: female experience in art. 1985. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
7. Book: Barringer, Paul Brandon, James Mercer Garnett, Rosewell Page. University of Virginia: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni, Volume 2. 1904. Lewis Publishing Co.. New York. 116.