BRIAN SHIELDS 'BRAAQ' (BRITISH 1951-1997)
The love letter
signed B. A. SHIELDS (lower left)
oil on board
90.5 x 72.5 cm

NOTES: Brian Shields was born in Liverpool in 1951 and was the son of the artist Dennis Shields. The nickname 'braaq' was given to him when he was still in school because of his artistic talent and it is a misspelling of the name of the famous French artist Braque.

After finishing school, Shields was discouraged from becoming a professional artist, so he started to train as a chef in a hotel in Harrogate. In his free time he painted a mural close to where he worked and it signed with his nickname ‘Braaq’. The mural became very popular, but nobody knew who the artist was until Shields was discovered by a local journalist. Then he opened his first exhibition in 1974 and few years later he was already showing in London's West End. He died in 1997 at the age of 46.

The majority of his paintings are humorous depictions of his childhood memories of Liverpool. The Love Letter is one of his few paintings not to be a landscape, but a still life. The artist painted this picture for his friend Vanessa whom the love letter is dedicated. The letter bears the following text: “Dear Vanessa,
Just a note to say that no matter what happens between us I will always love you. I would never have done it without you. All my love, Brian”
The letter is signed and dated on the top right: “A Shields, Old Bath Road, Harrogate, 29-6-81”

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