Peter Brook

Peter Brook was brought up on a farm in West Yorkshire and was educated at Barnsley Grammar School and Goldsmiths College (part of London University). After university, he spent two years in the RAF, he returned to Yorkshire where he became a teacher in Rastrick.

Brook’s subject matter remained consistent throughout his life – his Yorkshire home - the factories, stone built houses, dry stone walls, men, dogs and sheep who lived and worked on the land. When teaching, he would sometimes take pupils out to draw the surrounding country saying: 'if you want a subject, look around you'.

He initially used thick paints to create his work, but seeking a way to achieve the effect he wanted, he began to mix very fine sandstone from a nearby quarry into the paint to give his buildings more substance and which contrasted with his smooth sky lines. Later in his career, he moved on to thinner paint with smooth finishes using rags, rollers, wire brushes or his fingers to add depth and interest.

In 1960 Brook had his first one man exhibition (at Wakefield City Art Gallery) which was favourably reviewed in The Times. In 1962 was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. Two very successful exhibitions in the Queens Square Art Gallery, Leeds in the mid sixties were followed by another show at the University of York in 1968.

Agnews, the major London art dealers, began to represent Peter in the late 1960s with great success. Further shows in America and Australia followed. In 1974 he was commissioned to design the Oxford University Almanac.
For Brook, the titles were an important part of the painting. These add humour to the work and prompt the viewer to reflect on the less obvious elements of the painting which might be missed on the first look.

His work are in the Tate Collection, The V & A, Wakefield Art Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds University & Spring Ram PLC and in major private collections throughout the world.

Submitted by Gateway Gallery