Catching Moments in History on Canvas

There’s a long history of artists documenting historical events, capturing on canvas important moments in time across the centuries. The resulting paintings hang in galleries around the world, providing us with a portal to the past.

Bath-based artist Peter Brown (a.k.a. Pete the Street) is determined to keep the tradition alive, believing that a painting offers a unique perspective that a quick snap posted on Instagram can’t compete with.

Most recently, Peter documented the ten days following the Queen’s death.

“I was walking the dog in Bath in the early morning of 9th September, the day after the Queen died, and it suddenly occurred to me I should be painting Buckingham Palace, so I headed quickly home and jumped into the van.

“I completed five paintings of the public’s reaction to the proceedings over the following ten days up until the funeral – the crowds outside the palace, along the procession routes and in the royal parks. And then there was David Beckham in the legendary queue along the Thames.”

The spectacle of royal pageantry is appealing to Peter, having previously painted the flotilla at the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012, the sea of red poppies at the Tower of London, and more recently, local celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.

But it’s not all pageantry and patisseries, Peter also captures the nitty-gritty of everyday life in his work. Many of his paintings from the past few years tell the story of towns and cities and their people during the COVID pandemic. From the empty streets of Bristol (St Michael’s Hill and The Neptune Statue) and the closed West End theatres in London, painted as the first lockdown started to ease, through to bustling scenes of cafes and restaurants in Bath as people started to venture out for an overpriced coffee once again

His new exhibition ‘Bath, Bristol and Beyond’ includes two paintings of the ‘Multi’, a car park in Bath that is currently being demolished, and past scenes have included the aftermath of the Tottenham riots. Peter also attends Glastonbury Festival every year (pandemic permitting) to capture the energy, atmosphere and colour of the event.

And, of course, Peter captures moments from everyday life– shopping streets, seaside scenes, commuters, park life, allotment holders, dog walkers and family scenes at home. He paints from life - in all seasons, and in all weathers – even during snowstorms when he works outside wearing fingerless mittens.

Peter Brown’s new solo exhibition 'Bath, Bristol and Beyond' opens on 22 October 2022 at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, continuing until 15 January 2023.

The exhibition features over 100 new oil paintings by Peter and will also be available to view online from 15 October at https://www.victoriagal.org.uk/event/peter-brown-bath-bristol-and-beyond

Peter will be at the gallery all day for a meet and greet on Saturday 22 October, with an artist talk at 11am.