George Cooke (painter)

[1] His primary patron was the industrialist Daniel Pratt, who built a gallery in Prattville, Alabama, solely to house Cooke's paintings.

[1] Cooke was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland,[2] and abandoned a fledgling career in business at an early age in order to become a full-time artist.

[3] At some time between 1826 and 1830, Cooke made a copy in Paris of The Raft of the Medusa, a monumental painting by Théodore Géricault depicting a notorious incident following a shipwreck.

Cooke's smaller version (4' x 6') was shown in Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C., to crowds, who knew about the controversy surrounding subject.

[3] After a few years, Pratt decided to take the unusual step of adding a separate gallery to his home in Prattville, Alabama, which was solely dedicated to the housing of Cooke's art.