Peter Brook (painter)
Peter Brook RBA (1927–2009) was an English artist, best known for his landscape paintings, nicknamed the "Pennine Landscape Painter".[citation needed]
Life and career
[edit]Peter Brook was born in Scholes, Holme Valley, West Yorkshire to farmer parents.[1] He was educated at Goldsmith's College where he studied to become a teacher while he attended evening drawing classes and visited art galleries.[2] He returned to West Yorkshire where he worked as a teacher, first at Rastrick and then Sowerby. He married his wife Molly in 1950.[1]
Brook painted rural landscapes, farmhouses and scenes from different facets of British life. In 1957 his oil of a street scene in Huddersfield was included as one of the "Young Artists of Promise" in Jack Beddington's book of that name.[3] In his early career he painted the houses, and mills, surrounding his home in Brighouse, West Yorkshire. He taught art at a local school and often told his students that "inspiration was all around".
It was only when he was offered a contract with Thomas Agnew & Sons of London that Brook was able to become a full time artist. He worked with Agnew's for many years, with numerous exhibitions in London, as well as in the USA and Australia, although Brook himself never travelled abroad.
He was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1962.[2]
His work caught the eye of many celebrities of the day including Rodney Bewes, Frank Windsor, Tom Courtenay and others. His most famous collector was Yorkshire-born Hollywood star James Mason, who purchased more than 20 of Brook's original paintings. Brook features in the television documentary Home James[when?] which sees Mason visit his home town of Huddersfield and has clips of him out walking on the moors with Brook.
His trademark became the inclusion of himself and his dog in many of his paintings. Brook's work is held in the Tate Gallery and he has featured, twice, in the annual desk diaries.[citation needed]
Brook achieved signifcant commercial success before his death, but remained a modest and private man. Since his death in 2009 his popularity has remained high, with his original paintings highly sought after by collectors. Reproduction prints, approved by Brook's estate, continue to make his work accessible for all, something Brook himself was always keen to ensure.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Peter Brook: Tribute to a modest artist who brought life to the landscape". The Yorkshire Post. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Peter Brook Biography". Artnet. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ Beddington, Jack (1957). Young Artists of Promise. The Studio. pp. 64, 121.
External links
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