Peter Coker was born in London in 1926. He studied painting first at St. Martin's School of Art (1946-1950) followed by The Royal College of Art (1950-1952) in London.
Peter Coker's first solo exhibition was held at the Zwemmer Gallery in 1956. Initially his early work embraced the 1950's Kitchen Sink School, but a trip to Paris where he saw the work of Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) for the first time, influenced him very strongly. Thereafter he turned his exacting eye to landscapes both in the UK and France.
From the early 1970's Peter Coker made regular visits to Bargemon in Provence, where the extraordinarily intense light influenced his colour palette. Later in the same decade he began a series of paintings depicting the gardens at the Clos du Peyronnet in Menton.
In contrast to the luminous light and vibrant colours of the South of France, a family tragedy in 1985 caused him to return to the 'northern light' of Scotland where he spent many painting expeditions in Ross-shire. As an artist Peter Coker was able to treat such contrasting landscapes with equal ability and sensitivity.
Peter Coker also taught at St. Martin's School of Art and had many exhibitions including solo shows at the Zwemmer Gallery during the 1960's, The Thackeray Gallery (1970's) and Gallery 10 (1980's) all in London. He also exhibited annually at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and was made an Associate Royal Academician in 1965 and a Royal Academician in 1972.
Retrospective exhibitions followed at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (1989) and at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Cumbria (1992). A major retrospective, with an accompanying authorised and illustrated biography, was held at Chris Beetles Gallery, London, in 2002.
Peter Coker died in 2004. Examples of his work are held at Tate Britain, The Royal Academy, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, The National Galleries of Scotland and The Royal College of Art.