Lot 631: Patrick Branwell Bront 1817-1848- "Runswick Near

Patrick Branwell Bront 1817-1848- "Runswick Near Whitby"; oil on artists board, signed, Note: Patrick Branwell Bronte, born June 1817, at Thornton, Bradford in Yorkshire, fourth child of the six Bront children. (the spelling of the family surname being changed to honour Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Duke of Bront) Branwell Bronte received no formal education, partly due to financial restrictions as his father was struggling to keep the family together after his wife's death in 1821, despite this he was a very capable scholar with an enthusiastic desire to learn. In February 1836 at the age of 19 Branwell was proposed a freemason, and later became secretary of the Lodge. Meetings were held at the Black Bull pub (near Whitby) until 1833. From 1838 to 1839 he was working as a portrait painter in Bradford. 1840 he took up position as tutor for the Postlethwaite family at Broughton-In-Furness, In April 1841 he was employed as Clerk in Charge of Luddenden Foot station near Hebden Bridge. While there he was known to frequent the Lord Nelson Tavern. In March 1842 he is dismissed from his post as there was found to be a deficit in the station accounts, attributed to Branwell Bronte's incompetence rather than theft. In 1843 Anne managed to secure post of tutor for Branwell with the Robinson family at Thorp Green. In 1845 he is dismissed from his post as tutor, It was discovered that he had an affair with Mrs Robinson. For the next three years Branwell's state physically and mentally take a rapid decline due to his dependence on drink and opium and an increased state of self pity and worthlessness. On the 24th September 1848 Branwell died of chronic bronchitis / consumption, aged 31. On 28th September he was laid to rest in the family vault at Haworth church. Eight miles north of Whitby, the village of Runswick Bay clings to the cliffs at the end of a long sandy beach. At the end of the steep descent from Hinderwell village. Many cottages had been lost to the sea over the centuries. Though the village is now protected by a sea-wall, In order to increase the family income, the fisherfolk would live in beach huts during the summer months while letting their cottages to the artists and holiday-makers who flocked to the village after the railway was built.