Peter Brook (1927 - 2009)

The son of farmers, Peter Brook was brought up in West Yorkshire where he spent most of his life. While training as a teacher at Goldsmith's College, London, he visited galleries and attended life drawing evening classes and further developed his art alongside his teaching career back in Yorkshire. On trips in the countryside with his art students he would tell them to use the same approach he used in his own painting: 'if you want a subject, look around you'.

Brook became a full-time artist in his 40s and in 1962 was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. He took part in successful collective exhibitions and well-reviewed one-man shows, displaying work throughout the UK, in Australia and the United States.

The crumbling farmhouses on sheep-dotted moors sweeping into the distance, or people bustling round honey-stoned houses, faithfully observed by the man and his dog, always provided Brook with the subject matter he desired. While he painted elsewhere in the British Isles, he continued to return to the Yorkshire Pennines, often in snowy winters.

Although his subjects remained consistent, Brook continued to work on his technique and approach. Having started out using thick paint, he started to use the very sandstone he painted, crumbled to a fine dust and mixed with thinner paint to give more substance to his buildings. He was further inspired by the hazy effect of Victorian prints which led him to sometimes use rags, wire brushes or his fingers to conjure streaky clouds or smoky skies.

A dog's face peeking through a gap in a door, or a quirkily placed sheep bring humour to Brook's work, but the strength of his wit really comes through in the titles he inscribes along the bottom of his paintings. A revelatory comment or sometimes enigmatic description make the observer laugh or think and both provide a further dimension to the work and offer even more of the artist's insight into the scene.

Brook's impressions of the Yorkshire Pennines, moors, and mills seem deeply infused with the artist's personality. His intimate knowledge of the seasons, stark landscape and fading customs of his homeland, combined with his wit and varied, painterly touch make the paintings easily recognisable and instantly appealable.

Permanent Collections Include

Tate Collection,
V & A,
Wakefield Art Gallery,
Leeds City Art Gallery,
Leeds University,
Spring Ram PLC

Source:
"Peter Brook", Portland Gallery, London, http://www.portlandgallery.com/artist/Peter_Brook/bio (Accessed 5/18/2013)

'You have to get a feeling for a person or a place before you can paint them. You have to get to know them. It's not until you impregnate yourself, saturate yourself in the qualities of a place that you can paint it well.'' Peter Brook This maxim clearly resonates in the West Yorkshire born artist's stark depictions of the Yorkshire Pennines, moors, and mills. Infused with the artist's personality, his signature taglines and the appearance of his trusty sheepdog.

A farmer's son, Peter Brook grew up in West Yorkshire where he spent most of his life. He was educated at Barnsley Grammar School before moving on to teacher training at Goldsmiths College, London, where he visited galleries and attended life drawing evening classes and further developed his art alongside his teaching career back in Yorkshire. It wasn't until his 40's that he became a full-time artist, being elected as a member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1962.

He was represented by Agnews in London where he held a number of solo shows, whilst also exhibiting in America and Australia. His works can be seen in the V&A, the Tate, Wakefield Art Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds University & Spring Ram PLC and in major private collections worldwide.