The work of Peter Brook, one of Yorkshires greatest artists, can be found in the Tate Collection, The V & A, Wakefield Art Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery, and Leeds University, as well as here at Holly Johnson Antiques. Best known for his landscape paintings, Brooks artwork commonly features rural scenes, sweeping moors and weather-beaten farmhouses in the Yorkshire Pennines.
Brook (1927 – 2009) was born and brought up in the village of Scholes in West Yorkshire by his parents who were farmers, and it is said that his paintings were greatly influenced by the winters in the Pennines that he experienced growing up.
After attending Barnsley Grammar School, Brook began teacher training at Goldsmiths College, part of London University, during which he attended evening classes in life drawing and regularly visited art galleries.
Then, returning to Yorkshire, he became a teacher in Rastrick and it was at this time that he began properly practising his art and developing his skills. His initial work involved the use of very thick paint, but he was in the process of refining his technique and he began to experiment by mixing sandstone into his paints to produce texture and substance. To create smoother effects, used for sky lines, he often used rags, rollers or his fingers.
Brooks first one-man exhibition was held at the Wakefield City Art Gallery in 1960, which was a huge success and even reviewed in The Times. In 1962, he was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists and after this Agnews, the major London art dealers, began to represent Brook.
By 1967, in his 40s, Brook was a full-time artist teaching at Sowerby Bridge Grammar School. He took his students out on regular trips to the countryside, telling them: If you want a subject, look around you.
Brook had several very successful exhibitions in his time and is considered a hugely successful artist.
We currently have three of Brooks beautiful paintings here at Holly Johnson Antiques, including a landscape oil painting “An Old Fashioned Christmas Even”, “De-Restriction with a short cut”, and “Spring in Cumbria” all in very good condition.
