Victoria Art Gallery will host a major exhibition of paintings and drawings by well-known local artist Peter Brown. Peter Brown: A Bath Painter’s Travels (3 December 2016-19 February 2017) will feature 141 new oil paintings and drawings by Brown, who is commonly known as ‘Pete the Street’ due to his habit of painting outdoors in all weathers and chatting to passers-by who stop to watch him at work.
The show will include scenes of many well-loved Bath locations including the Abbey, Milsom Street, George Street, Queen Square, Walcot Street and Pulteney Bridge. These will be displayed alongside views of Glastonbury Festival, London, Dublin, Granada, Seville, the Loire, Arles and India. Most of the works on display will be for sale, with prices starting from £650.
Brown’s ‘open air’ views invariably throb with life thanks to his unerring eye for local life and colour, be it human or animal, car or rickshaw, tree or sky.
Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones (Conservative, Lansdown), Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Bath & North East Somerset Council, which runs Victoria Art Gallery, said: “We are delighted to be hosting this major exhibition of Peter Brown’s work, giving local people and visitors a chance to enjoy his wonderful paintings of Bath and further afield. Local residents will be able to see the exhibition for free with a Discovery Card.”
Peter Brown said: “It was returning to Bath in 1994 that got me back into painting. I still love working in this city but in recent years I have been scratching an itch to travel. A continuing obsession with London, but also further afield to Europe and India. I never feel more alive than when I am at my easel surrounded by inquisitive strangers on the streets of Varanasi. This show is my indulgence and celebration of light, climate, people and life in this fascinating, incredible world!”
Brown is widely acclaimed as one of Britain’s best ‘plein air’ painters, with numerous awards and best-selling shows to his name. He first came to Bath in 1986 to study a foundation course in art, completed his training in Manchester and Greenwich and then returned to the city in 1993. He is a member of the New English Art Club, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Pastel Society and the Royal Society of British Artists. For further information see www.petethestreet.com.
A free audio guide with commentary by the artist will be available to all visitors.
The show will be accompanied by a brand-new 128-page book, Peter Brown: A Bath Painter’s Travels, which will feature many of the paintings displayed in the exhibition. The new book (£15.00) will be available from the gallery shop, alongside previous Peter Brown publications London Paintings, Brown’s Bath and My Indian Travels. A Peter Brown 2017 calendar is also available from the gallery.
Talk and book signing by Peter Brown
Saturday 3 December, 11.30am-12.30pm at Victoria Art Gallery. Free to Discovery Card and ticket holders. Advance booking not required.
