The Pennine Painter

Gateposts appear in many of Peter Brook’s paintings. In ‘Looking into a Frosty Brontë Landscape - And the Sun Comes Out’ it is the monumental posts which dominate the scene, their size and formality seeming out of place in what appears to be a typically remote Pennine landscape.

With foggy weather about here’s Peter Brook’s ‘A Good View of the Pennines (if it weren’t so misty)’, one of his many paintings of the moors above Crimsworth Dean, near Hebden Bridge. Whether the atmospheric conditions do detract from the scene is of course a matter of opinion.

Some of Peter Brook’s early Brighouse work is decidedly light hearted, in ‘Old Buildings’ the bright colours creating an upbeat mood. Not a painting to be taken too seriously, the reference to the American author William Saroyan and his birth in 1908 adds to the sense of whimsy.

In ‘Fresh Eggs’ Peter Brook’s muted palette portrays perfectly the end of a winter’s day as dusk falls and the last of the light catches the patches of snow. Even the sign, lacking the usual splash of colour, reflects the mood of the painting. (From @ACArtGallery’s archive)

On a very breezy Monday today’s post had to be ‘Blowing in the Wind - With a Dog called Bob and a Cat Called Dylan - PTO’. One of Peter Brook’s most memorable paintings, the reference in the title to the famous singer-songwriter is typical of his idiosyncratic sense of humour.

With the end of British Summer Time today it’s going dark already and will soon be ‘Lighting Up Time’. Peter Brook’s painting could be a gloomy woodland walk were it not for the warm glow from the street lamp, illuminating Peter and Shep and reflected by the snow covered ground.

It looks as though we’re in for some wet and windy weather over the next few days like Peter Brook on the ‘Brontë Moors - Caught out in a Storm’ with even the abandoned building, reduced to a ruin and its roof long since gone, unable to provide shelter from the torrential rain.

‘Out Taking Photographs by the Last Abandoned Farm before the Moor’ is a subject to which Peter Brook returned throughout his career. This later work is, however, less bleak than earlier examples, with the softly falling snow and patch of pink in the sky producing a gentler feel.

‘In the North - Sheltering at 1200ft - With a Dog Looking at You’ is in many ways one of Peter Brook’s bleakest paintings. The restricted palette and gate hanging off its hinges portray a desolate landscape, but lifted by the border collie peering inquisitively round the wall.

Wet all day today, which always reminds me of ‘Swaledale - Just a Passing Shower’, a classic example of Peter Brook’s liking for understatement as he trudges through the puddles at the top of he dale with just a hint of pink in the sky to suggest any respite. (Private Collection)

Peter Brook liked Mondays when lines of laundry appeared everywhere, even with snow on the ground. In ‘Winter Wash Day’ there was the added bonus of sheets, hung out on what looks like a communal drying ground with its traditional posts. (Sold at Tennants Auctioneers last year)

Crack of dawn dog walks have been a little chilly this weekend and temperatures slow to rise. In ‘Self Portrait - Freezing’ the absence of life save for the tiny figure of Peter Brook standing motionless on the pavement seems to make it feel even colder. (Sold by Bonhams in 2016)

Some of Peter Brook’s landscapes have an almost other worldly feel to them. In ‘Looking Across the Silence’ the sea of mist creates a sense of isolation, with no distant horizon nor spectacular skies and the only detail, apart from Peter and Shep, the odd patch of moorland grass.

Peter Brook always had a following from the world of film and television. ‘Pennine Sunset’, with its sublime evening sky, was part of the Northern Art collection of chat show host Michael Parkinson and on display in his gastropub, ‘The Royal Oak, Paley Street’ in Maidenhead.

‘Self Portrait from an Old Mistal Window’ is a typical view of the barely visible outline of Peter Brook and Shep disappearing into the distance, but, unusually, seen from inside a dark and gloomy Dentdale cow’us, creating a striking contrast with the snow covered ground outside.

Shep, readily recognisable from his chevron markings, was an increasingly important part of Peter Brook’s later work. In ‘Near a Farm with a Dog Thinking’ the canine companion draws our attention to the bottom right hand corner of the painting while Peter disappears up the path.

‘Washing Lines in Terraced Streets’ is one of a series of paintings from c1960 featuring the domestic architecture of Peter Brook’s home town of Brighouse. The washing blowing in the breeze, together with the sweep of the road, add interest and a feeling of movement and life.