Snow in the Front garden

Bratby studied at the Royal College of Art, London, from 1951-4. In December 1954 David Sylvester wrote an article for the Encounter titled 'The Kitchen Sink', relating to the domestic subjects and social realism on which Bratby and others had been focusing. Sylvester grouped together Bratby, Derrick Greaves, Edward Middleditch and Jack Smith under this tag, with the majority of the subsequent press attention focused upon Bratby. Bratby often painted the view from his Blackheath home. He primarily chose his family as subjects and incorporated all aspects of urban domestic life in his paintings. Here Bratby's son, Jason, and his wife Jean appear in their snow-covered suburban garden.