[1][2] He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and died in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Coke's introduction to photography began as a practicing photographer.

He studied with Nicholas Haz at the Clarence H. White School of Photography and later with Ansel Adams.

[3] Coke was the founding director of the University of New Mexico Art Museum from 1962 to 1970.

From 1979 to 1987 he was director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's photography department.