One of Peter's concerns was the disintegrating agricultural economy of the Pennines. Peter had farming in his blood and time was when he could walk round a farm and work out how many stock the farm supported... then the farms became abandoned, access was easier and there were no shouts asking Peter what he was doing, but at what cost? It was a subject close to his heart and many paintings echo his sadness at this declining way of life.... this is "Out Taking Photographs At The Last Abandoned Farm Before The Moor”

Brighouse was the town where Peter and Molly lived, Bradley Woods were just behind their house and Peters daily walks (and runs) would usually take in these woods (which feature a lot in Peters paintings, and it was buildings that Peter first painted in his early years...

Peter once said "When I first drew in Brighouse people would give me all sorts of queer looks... they thought I was from the council! Brighouse had everything I wanted in the early years, sunlight on a wall, a glimpse of something caught out of the corner of my eye, it would be enough to decide what my next painting would be"

Bradley Woods were Peters favourite haunt for his afternoon walk with his dog. Many of Peters most popular images feature the woods .... "The Woods are Lovely Dark and Deep" and "Lighting Up Time" are but two such examples, as well as this one ... "Snow on Snow"

One of Peters trademarks is the way he writes his titles at the bottom of his paintings (and sometimes up the side of them!) .. some find this irritating but for the majority it's part of his enduring appeal

Some captions are straightforward descriptions of the painting you're viewing such as "Drawing a Good View in the Pennines"

Some indicate the motive behind the painting, such as "Looking for a Good View" or the one shown here "A Skylark Singing Above Where a Farm Used to Be"

Some contain a good dose of irony such as "2 sheep with a certain savour-faire"

Some are poetic such as "Time Passed (Time) Past”

And some.... well some are just 'Peter' .... such as "Man Keeping His Pigeons Flying With a Long Brush"!!

Peters captions are not so much obtrusive as inclusive, inviting the viewer in, asking us to share the moment, perhaps even share the joke...

Peter was truly heartbroken when his last dog, Shep, passed away. He had been a true companion to him.

Peter had had a succession of dogs, all border collies - there was Bob, Tip, Tess (pictured with Peter below) and Shep, his last, who is often seen in his paintings, with those unique chevron markings on his back.

Peter wouldn't travel abroad and when asked why, he simply said it was because he wasn't allowed to take his dog on an aeroplane.

Dogs feature in many of his paintings, the theme of the sheep dog peering under a gap in the door being a popular subject! His friendship with Jim Cropper (famous from the 1980's TV series "One Man and His Dog") inspired Peters love of dogs and he enjoyed many visits to sheep dog trials, which in turn became the subject of a few paintings. Peter spent hours on the moors with Jim, studying the dogs, and sheep, even in freezing blizzards when it became so cold he could barely change the film in his camera... after such trips they often ended up in the local village pub, warming themselves up, with Jim recounting one of his "famous" shaggy dog stories!

It was Jim Cropper who gave Peter Shep, as a puppy, from a famous pedigree.

After Shep passed away Peter painted "Walking Without The Dog", a painting that tugs the heart strings as we see Peter walking into the distance with Shep sat watching the geese in the water (Shep was always fascinated by geese!)

Dogs were a big part of Peters life, always by his side, as they will always be in his paintings

Peter was once described as a "pragmatic eccentric, not a philosophical one, he certainly viewed life through glasses that were not rose tinted, but slightly idiosyncratic"

Was Peter eccentric? Hard to say as what is eccentric?

He saw subjects in the everyday and the mundane and transformed them into the extraordinary and sometimes the bemusing!

His imagination often came into play ... as Peter once said "I prefer to do something on my own, in my own way. I have always painted what I liked. Luckily most of the time other people have liked it too"

He allowed his imagination to take over with this painting, titled "Night Visit to Fuji... In Your Dreams"

Peter was given a collection of Victorian and Edwardian photographs, and one photo in particular caught his eye. It was of four men, posing for a photograph in a Huddersfield street, jostling and leaning on each other, with one wearing a long apron....in Peters eye they were clearly tipsy (or "Fresh" as we say in Yorkshire) and Peters imagination took over.

The group allowed Peter to give full rein to his surrealist sense of humour, but there is also the more serious theme of the lost world of community & fellowship, of a simpler way of life, and the scenes Peter created remind us of a world we have lost.

Amongst the paintings created we see these four fresh men taking a sheep for a walk (much to a dogs amazement), they go out on a Saturday night and act daft, or head home from an agricultural show (or its beer tent) with a gift for one of their wives (a puppy). In one George "signs to his dragon" by the light of a silvery moon (outside a pub), and on it goes...

The paintings remind us of the shop names, the posters, the fish and game shops, the pie and peas (hot), and so much more

Shown here are "The New Year. Four Fresh Shepherds Taking a Sheep for a Walk. Much to a Dogs Amazement" .... clearly one New Years Eve, note the sign for 'Reckitts Blue' and old laundry product (pre washing machines) ...

also "Action Replay of the Winning Goal Using a Hat, Four Fresh Men Out on the Town on a Saturday Night"..... note the sheepdog on the sign above the pub door, and the shop to the left is 'A. Longstaff', a nod to Alice Longstaff who ran a picture and framing shop in Hebden Bridge, where Peter would sell his work in the early years

In both paintings there is a lot to look at, and only when really looking can we appreciate the sheer skill of these townscapes.

In the 1760's in the moors around Halifax a notorious band of counterfeiters operated. They clipped the edges of new guineas and made gold coins from the clippings. The most famous "coiner" (as they became known) was David Hartley and he lived in the isolated Bell House Farm in Cragg Vale. The isolation was ideal for him as he could spot a stranger approaching from half a mile away and he received popular support locally as many in the West Riding were against central government and the King, at that time. The story didn't end well though and Hartley was hung in 1770 in the city of York. There were many macabre, and tragic, stories surrounding the coiners.

In 1975 Peter taught a pupil called John Hellowell, who knew the deserted farms of Cragg Vale. They would walk these areas, Peter seeing paintings at every turn, stories of the coiners would be told and Peter went on to create a series of paintings of the area, such as this one of Bell House itself, by then derelict.

"Bell House, a Sprinkling of Snow One Morning Before the Barn Fell Down One Night"

John Hellowell went on to be a very successful businessman and his friendship with Peter continued throughout Peters life.

In Cragg Vale today some of the coiners' farms are now inhabited, some of the pubs where they drank, and plotted, are still there...

Peter loved painting walls, often using dust from a local quarry mixed into his paints for added texture. He particularly liked walls interrupted by rickety old gates, or gates with sheep staring out, or the gaps where gates once stood. Often his dog will be peering round the gap, sometimes sheep are seeking shelter by a tumbling down wall... wonderful paintings but all providing evidence of the decline of working farms, and a world now gone

Seen here is "A Gap in the Wall (2)", one of the originals we have on sale and "Closed For Tea" with the lone gate posts all that remain..

For those not 'in the know' Hannah Hauxwell lived a very simple and (as someone once said) almost medieval existence, alone on a remote farm in Wensleydale. She became the subject of a TV series and was, for a time, a minor celebrity (look on youtube for some old tv footage). In Hannah, Peter found a subject which inspired him like no other. He developed a great sympathy for this fragile, gentle, charismatic lady. Peter first met Hannah in 1978 at Birk Hatt Farm, Molly would usually take a currant cake when they visited, which Hannah would put in a tin to protect it from the rats! Peter produced around 50 paintings of Hannah and the sweeping hills and moors around her farm - Hannah breaking ice for her cows to drink, Hannah making walking sticks, Hannah with her dog, etc... perhaps the most famous was the one shown here... Hannah Waving Goodbye, the original of which hung in Peter & Molly's front room. A stunning picture, this was released in print in the 1980's and a special edition released in 2007 to celebrate Hannah's 80th (by which time she was living in the local village). TV directors often used Peters perspectives and views for their own camera angles, but its the paintings that preserve the memory and remarkable story of this stoical lady along with the bleakness, and beauty, of the area she lived in

Peter was an individualist in an increasingly conformist society... a voice raised against the alienation of mass urbanisation, the loss of green belt, the decline of traditional farming and industry for the sake of 'progress'. He was never overly political but was stubbornly honest and had an innate ability to make us look again at ordinary objects and appreciate our surroundings even more

Peter was often "In England" as many of his paintings are titled thus... this one is evocatively titled "England In Ruins But Beautiful, Taking a Photograph" - a title that says so much

Peter never travelled abroad - he would lovingly refer to "going abroad" as holidays to Scotland or Cornwall, places he enjoyed visiting, and places that inspired many paintings, but he was truly at home in England, in the Pennines

Peter regarded his pictures as a result of a process of inevitability, as he once tried to explain

"You have to get a feeling for a person or place before you can paint them, saturate yourself in the qualities of the place so you can paint it well. In my painting I try to make the paint become the image, and the image contain the feelings I experienced. There is always a subject waiting, and I will spot it."

Peter would always work out how to paint a subject, work at it, experiment, and patiently wait for the "inevitable" to happen, for the result to crystallise. One small change to the image could be all it took, sometimes by accident, but the image would emerge, as if it was always there, just waiting to be realised...

Joseph Priestley was the 'discoverer of Oxygen' and was born at Field Head, Birstall, in 1733. He went to Birstall Grammar School and, in 1983, they commissioned Peter to paint Joseph Priestley's birthplace. Sadly we cannot find an image of the painting but are assured it was in 'typical' Peter fashion. Further commissions followed and the school has a number of paintings hanging on its walls

Shown here is the statue of Priestley, which stands proudly in the market place in Birstall

Peters love of the pennine landscapes and strong feelings about the decline of traditional farming comes through time and again - his emotional engagement with these scenes seems to give them an immortality - the old farms are like old trees, firmly rooted in the landscape. In the 1960's bitterness spread as planners evicted farmers to make way for the M62 motorway. Peter identified with these feelings of a tradition under attack and the signs placed by planners and workmen stating "Keep Out" - it compelled him to think about the ruins.

So many paintings have titles that stir thoughts .... "Vacant Possession, Well Situated with Extensive Views, Especially Through The Roof" and "Where the Weavers Was" just two example

But Peter would not be stopped from his desire to paint, and to get the best view of a place... indeed he would often "Trespass for the Sake of Art"

For many years Peter was far better known in London, than in his native Yorkshire.

The 'celebrity' following that he had and growing reputation persuaded London gallery Agnews to offer him a contract, and this allowed Peter to retire from teaching and paint full time.

In December 1969 they held their first, very successful, one man show, they also exhibited his work in Palm Springs, and twice in Australia.

In the mid 70's they commissioned a series of prints, one for each month of the year. Shown here is "June". A set of these prints is held in the Tate Gallery collection.

The terms of the contract with Agnews eventually proved restrictive and the association was ended but Peters following in the capital remains strong even to this day.

Peter first met Molly on the train, going to school in Barnsley and they married in 1950.

Molly played a vital role 'behind the scenes', doing all the administrative work, taking his calls, checking his correspondence, and generally "looking after him".

Equally down to earth, Molly was a wonderful support to Peter, and her role in his success cannot be underestimated.

She welcomed friends and collectors to their home with a genuine warmth.

They had 2 daughters, Alison and Katherine, and lived in the same house in Brighouse throughout their life.

Mike has many fond memories of them both - "When I first met Peter I was shown into the front room and offered tea and biscuits, served by Molly, who then left us to it. I realised later that the front room was for more formal visits and meetings. The back room was the one you went to for social calls and it was there that I would go when I called, as I did most Fridays on my way home, and catch up with them. They made a great team and were always supportive and encouraging. The conversations were always interesting and if I was lucky Molly would have been baking, the smells hitting me as I walked in the front door! In the early years I'd be accosted by Shep at the door, later I brought my own (then new) puppy to meet them - Bella (my black lab) doesn't just wag her tail, she wags her entire back end, and on entering Peter and Molly's back room she caused carnage - books, papers, and indeed anything on low tables was launched into the air by Bella's tail as she fussed between them! They did allow her back for other visits though...happy times. After Peter passed away I'd still make regular visits to see Molly, she was a remarkable lady. I miss them both to this day"

James Mason was probably Peters most famous collector. Born in 1909 in Huddersfield he starred in many films from the mid 1930's onwards, appearing in many Hollywood films such as "A Star is Born" and “North by North West".

He always retained strong connections with the town. In 1969 he was introduced to Peter Brook by Rodney Bewes (star of 'The Likely Lads') whilst filming in the North (interestingly Bewes had been introduced to Peters work by Tom Courtenay (now Sir Tom Courtenay), who was already a collector.

Bewes and Mason visited Peter's home and the two quickly formed a friendship, sharing a common interest in the landscapes, towns and life of the area.

For many years Mason would visit Peter whenever he was in the area and in 1972 Peter appeared in the 'Home James' documentary. Peter was also commissioned by James Mason to paint the Mason family home "Croft House" in Huddersfield.

In total James Mason owned over 30 of Peters paintings, the majority of which were displayed in his Lake Geneva home. Mason and his wife regularly offered to fly Peter & Molly over to stay with them, but Peter wouldn't go as "they won't let me take my dog on the plane"!

James Mason passed away in 1984

From the early 1980’s Peter and Molly would take driving holidays to Scotland. Peter loved the scale of the place, the different light and atmosphere. He was entranced by Skye, its crofters and its sheep and he commented that there were “pictures everywhere”. He painted Ben Nevis, the Cuillin Hills, numerous lochs and castles. There were technical issues to overcome as the vast scale was different to that of the Pennine valleys. After patient experiment Peter created paintings that were able to convey the immensity of Scotland.

Molly once recalled that they had been driving northwards early one morning from Glasgow when they came upon Loch Arklet. The mist was lifting over the mountains and Peter was transfixed and wanted to take photos but he realised he had missed the best time of day for the perfect photo – instead of heading onwards they changed their plans and stayed locally, Peter getting Molly up earlier the following day to head to the Loch. Sure enough the mist hung over the mountains and Peter took plenty of photos, and weeks later, back home, a painting was produced.

If ever proof of artistic versatility was required, Scotland provided it for Peter

Attached – “Loch Arklet” and “Scotland, Rannoch Moor, Scary”

Peter was attracted by moonlight, particularly moonlight against snow and he loved to challenge himself to paint something a bit differently, but still in his style, and would happily experiment with different techniques. In many of his moonlight paintings Peter would use nail glitter to create stars in the sky.

“Isolated, But Lit Up” is one good example of Peters ‘moonlight’ pieces – all the characteristics of a classic Peter Brook painting are there – the snow, the old ruins, Peter and Shep – but it’s a moonlight sky overhead.

Peter was described once as “The Pennine Landscape Painter”. The name was used as the title of an early book and the name stuck.

Who can argue with that title?

Much of Peters best work was produced in this backbone of England – the Pennine farms, roads, mills, and snow dominate his work. It was into these moors and valleys that Peter would go in search of the next view, the next painting. He knew they were there waiting for him.

He was saddened by the decline of the farming industry and the changing way of life that saw the Pennines change so much but his love for them never wavered and despite many offers of trips to places further afield Peter would be always politely refuse, he loved the Pennines, and that was enough.

Pictured: 'A good view of the Pennines (if it weren't so misty)'

Peter was never one for the high life, despite his celebrity collectors and ever increasing profile in later life. He and Molly enjoyed simple pleasures - a walk twice a day, doing the crossword (the Telegraph being their favourite), watching TV (selectively) and reading. They had a routine for their weeks - walking into the Pennines on Tuesdays, Fridays a walk to the pub for a pint or two, daily feeding of the birds, some local shopping, a stop off at his favourite coffee shop, then into the studio. Peter would occasionally buy a 'red top' paper to keep in touch with modernity and to search for the quirky stories that would feed his imagination. He often read of things that made him thankful for his quiet life!

Image: 'Being looked out for (and looking forward to a warm brew)'

At the age of 40 Peter began a distinguished career as a fell and cross country runner. He was trained by the famous fell runner Josh Naylor. He ran his first 3 peaks race in a very fast time of 3 hours 27 minutes. He joined the Holmfirth Harriers club and ran every sunday morning with them, often on obscure tracks over the Pennines and it was during these runs that he would see images and views that would later become paintings. They did not know he was a painter until one of his running companions saw one of his exhibitions in Huddersfield and said to his wife "We pass that when we go running every Sunday morning. How the bloody hell has he done that then?!"

Peter was a fierce competitor, always striving for perfection, whether in running or painting.

Peter had a great affection for sheep, and a wide knowledge of their habits and their breeds. He could capture their posture exactly. In his paintings we often see them as they stare impassively towards the viewer, often sheltering under walls, they often wander forward as if walking out the picture. They graze, they watch, they meet at feeding points, they cross roads, sometimes they are started by visitors, ruffled by the wind, or lying in the middle of a road (Peter understood that sheep do this so they can lick the salt off the road in and because the road temperature is higher at night than in a field)…. Peter often made sheep the star of his paintings!

IMAGE – SHEEP ON THE ROAD

Eskimos apparently have 23 different words for snow… Peter painted most of them!

Peter LOVED snow… he was thrilled when the snow came, filling up his beloved valleys and moors. Walls, buildings, trees and skies became sharper to Peter in the snow and he was one of very few artists who could truly ‘capture’ snow in his paintings. He ran through snow, he walked miles through it and the ethereal surroundings he found himself in out in the wilds inspired him. He was almost obsessive about recreating those winter landscapes he loved so much. His titles often ‘cut to the chase’…titles such as “Bloody Freezing” and “Walking over a frozen field”.

Often signs appear in his paintings warning that roads are closed, and invariably we can see Peter and his dog in the snowy distance, intrepid as ever.

Peter once explained… “My pictures have always been a good deal to do with the weather. If its snowing, what type of snow, is it softly falling or big flakes falling, is it drifting or is it slushy show, or is it the hard horizontal snow that creates a white out… Snow always adds to the drama of a painting. Whenever it snowed I would do long runs in my favourite area, gathering information. The sight of all those Pennine Farms under snow always knocked me out”

Image - 'Early lamb and larger flakes falling'

Peter used a small roller which he had for over 45 years to give his images a smooth texture. Straighter edges were made by a newer roller, or occasionally a scalpel. He would smudge and adjust his paint by using his hands, or rags. It seemed he rarely used brushes, though they had their place in his repertoire. Years of experience gave him the confidence to achieve the effect he wanted exactly. In his studio he would often have up to a dozen paintings, all at different stages, waiting (as he would say) for the “inevitable to happen”

In his early years Peter often mixed sandstone (acquired at a local quarry) into his oils to give the buildings and walls more texture and realism. By the 1970’s he strove for a flatter, smoother effect, and would use thinned paint smoothed by rags, fingers and rollers.

Peter was a ‘painters painter’ – deeply concerned by composition, shape and texture.

Trees often became a focal point of Peters paintings, he loved to paint them in winter, when their structure could be clearly seen. His ability to catch their precise shapes was quite unique. He would use a wire brush (originally used for cleaning spark plugs!) and a knife. The feathery trace of branches in winter were painted with amazing realism.

Peter loved walking, and running, through woods, as much as he did the open moors. Thus Trees surrounded him often, never more so than in Bradley Woods, close to his home and the area he would walk in every day. Many of Peters most striking paintings were of Bradley Woods, usually in winter, featuring snow of course! However other paintings were equally striking – a row of trees by a wall, exposed but standing strong, a lone tree left by a crumbled barn, witness to the declining landscapes that Peter felt so strongly about

Image: The woods are lovely, dark and deep

In 1974 Peter received a prestigious commission. The Oxford University Press publishes its annual almanac of university events and invites a painter every year to provide the cover image. Some very celebrated artists have shared the distinction.

Oxford itself failed to inspire Peter and it was only when taken to lunch in a village close by that he found his subject, the Cotswold stone cottages and farm buildings… Whilst the University liked the work, and it was used, they did comment to Peter that they thought he had given their Cotswold village a “northern feel” … a comment that he never really understood!

Peter painted many different locations, from Scotland in the north, to Cornwall in the south. He painted in Northumberland, in Staffordshire, in Lancashire, and Cumbria.

He enjoyed looking through photographs from holidays taken by friends and family and would often produce a painting after such viewings… one friends visit to Japan inspired the attached “Visit to Fuji…. In your Dreams”

Other paintings came on the back of someone showing him their photos from a safari holiday.

He would enjoy visiting places through other peoples eyes (and cameras) and took it all in.

“Watching Me Draw… PTO” shows a row of terrace houses with washing on the line. Peter and his dog drawing in front of them – this was Peters memories of his early days, with sketch book in hand, when people would come up and ask him if he was from the council (fearing he was making notes for a future demolition order). He would reassure them that he was only an artist and they would leave him alone.

Lines of washing always caught his eye and appear in various paintings, he liked the horizontal lines they offered, and the contrasting colours offered by brightly coloured clothing.

Peter’s dry and occasionally eccentric wit was well known, his titles often humorous. He would see the abnormal in the mundane, find unusual links in his paintings,

One famously titled painting was called “David Hockney Arriving in Bradford to spend Christmas with his mother and design the cover for the Telephone Directory F.O.C.” – the painting has little to do with Hockney, there is simply a vapour trail in the sky (this being the plane carrying Hockney!)

In January 2005 Peter fell and x rays showed he had fractured his hip. Recovering at home he was restricted to the downstairs rooms, one acted as his studio, the other his bedroom. He managed to continue painting and produced nearly 30 paintings when perched on a commode provided by the NHS! The light in the room was not what he was used to, he was unable to prime his boards in the usual way, and so many of the paintings (of which many diverse subjects were covered) had a slightly misty effect. He enjoyed the challenges his temporary environment created.

Peters paintings of yachts and sailing boats are not as well known as perhaps they should be – the brightly coloured sails often contrasting with the sober tones of the lakes, sea and skies.

In ‘Sailing’ (pictured) we see red white and blue sails, the background a famous white house that used to serve afternoon teas. This is Scammonden Dam, only a few hundred yards away in the M62!

In 2004 the Yale Centre for British Art bought one of his early paintings for their collection, a collection which includes most of the great British artists from medieval to modern times.

When Peter was teaching he took his pupils to Flamingo Land Zoo, in search of inspiration. Two paintings were the result, both featuring elephants. Peter was well known for his love of donkeys, dogs and sheep – he also had a soft spot for Elephants and they’d appear now and then in paintings, often in very simple paintings but always caught with warmth and wit.

Here we see “As with donkeys, there’s something special about elephants”…a simple but well executed little painting, set up with the mother walking “out of shot” and the baby, a tiny figure, following on behind, both caught perfectly. A simple idea, but very effective.