The Pennine Painter

Pennine skies, changing with the seasons, the time of day and of course the weather, appear in many of Peter Brook’s paintings, particularly dramatically in ‘A Real Bronté Sunset’, in which the strong red creates a striking contrast with the dark, silhouetted landscape features.

The subject of ‘Fresh Eggs’ is a winter’s afternoon, dusk already descending on the traditional stone farm, while the patches of snow still catch the last of the light. Typical of Peter Brook, it is the roadside sign to which he draws our attention. (From @ACArtGallery’s archive)

Misty on this week’s early morning dog walks, bringing to mind Peter Brook’s ‘Pennine Farm’, its distant hills still barely visible against a featureless pale sky, creating a sense of almost haunting serenity and stillness. (From James Mason’s collection, sold by Bonhams in 2010)

‘Farm’ is in many ways a typical Peter Brook Pennine snow scene, its long-since abandoned building with a hole in the roof soon to become a ruin. But it is the unexplained presence of the figure behind the wall which comes as something of a surprise. (Sold at Christie’s in 2017)

Peter Brook often employed his man-and-dog motif to convey a sense of isolation and solitude. In ‘Drawing Outside in Winter - On a Rock’ Peter and Shep are the only sign of life as they gaze into the mist across an empty, boulder-strewn landscape. (Sold @Wilson55Auction in 2020)

Morley, west Yorkshire. Conflicting road uses.

‘The Pennine Winter’, with its falling snow and solitary sheep sheltering by a wall, is one of those Peter Brook paintings which could well have been bleak, but is lifted by the glow in the sky and the brightly coloured laundry on the line. It must have been a Monday!

By popular demand… The Peter Brook Calendar is back!! We are taking pre-orders now! Follow the link below to see more details and pre-order your calendar(s) acgallery.co.uk/peter-brook-rb…

Peter Brook’s early work portraying life in the towns of the industrial West Riding is often hard hitting with no hint of nostalgia. In ‘Father Returning Unsteadily for a Late Sunday Dinner’ the child in the doorway adds a poignancy to the painting. (For sale at Carnes Fine Art)

Peter Brook often holidayed in the Scottish Highlands, finding new subjects there. In ‘Well Trained - But a Dog Blissfully Unaware of the Dangers that Lurk on Rannoch Moor’ he paints a landscape very different to his Pennine vistas while retaining his distinctive sense of humour.

Our Peter Brook Focus Event starts tomorrow in Skipton Signed prints, originals and estate approved prints available!

The moors above Crimsworth Dean near Hebden Bridge with their abandoned farmhouses were one of Peter Brook’s favourite locations and the subject of many of his paintings, portrayed in a variety of weather conditions as in ‘A Good View of the Pennines (if it weren’t so misty)’.

A trademark atmospheric evening sky is the dominant feature of Peter Brook’s ‘A Later Flight - Passing over the Brontë Moors’, complete with its vapour trails, which on close examination can be seen in several examples of his work, here linking to the title of the painting .

Peter Brook’s beach and coastal scenes are few and far between. Typically, ‘N.E. - Squall’ from 1979, possibly a view of Redcar, portrays not an idyllic summer’s day, but a bout of bad weather, which judging by the colour of the sky looks set to continue for some time.

We’re having a Peter Brook Focus Event in Skipton!

St. Swithin’s Day today and got caught in the rain so looks like the end of the drought, if you believe in the traditional tale. And here’s ‘Sheep Dog on Wall’, with Peter Brook and Tess, predecessor to the better known Shep, getting wet too. (Private Collection)

Like much of Peter Brook’s early work, ‘Fountain Street - Nearly All In’ records a traditional way of life which was fast disappearing from the towns of the industrial West Riding of Yorkshire in the face of wholesale re-development in the 1960’s. (From @ACArtGallery’s archive)

On another warm and sunny day it’s easy to forget just how short the winter afternoons can be. In ‘Walking the Dog - 4PM’ the light is already fading fast as Peter Brook and Shep disappear into the gloom, leaving Bradley Wood behind and heading for home. (Sold by Bonhams in 2020)

With temperatures soaring in the third official heat wave of the year inevitably there’s lots of talk about long-term climate change. In ‘Watery Sun - Melting Snow - Warmer - Global Warming?’ Peter Brook, always an inveterate winter weather watcher, poses a similar question.

It is said that Peter Brook’s paintings make you feel cold, so on the hottest day of the year here’s ‘Hannah Hauxwell - And More Snow Falling’, an unusual circular portrayal of the extreme winter weather faced by the Baldersdale farmer, living and working alone at Low Birk Hatt.