DON BRECKON: Railway artist painter - Pictures & prices - Biography - Paintings for sale - Gallery of artworks on Google

Don Breckon was born in 1935 at Corby, Northamptonshire. He received his artistic education at the Bath Academy of Art and went on to teach art at schools in Bedford and Reading. In 1969 he reduced his teaching to part time in order to develop his own painting. His work was already starting to become focussed on railway themes, very much influenced by the work of Terence Cuneo, and was included in two travelling exhibitions at the Industrial Artists Group. Subsequently he became almost exclusively involved with the railway scene and in due course moved to the West Country to pursue his art full time. The result has been the wealth of masterful railway images which now confirm his reputation as one of the most much loved railway artists of our time. His work included two published books on the subject and frequent appearances on television.

Sadly, later in life Don Breckon fell victim to Alzheimer’s Disease which meant he was able to paint very little for his last 10 years. He died on October 2nd 2013 at the age of 77 after his long battle with the disease.

FOR SALE: "Morning Delivery".

One of Don Breckon’s most enduring images is entitled: “Morning Delivery”. The painting depicts a quiet country railway crossing as a train passes through, while a local postman chats to the occupant of the house near the crossing. The steam engine is actually Number 1521 which was built in 1909 and appeared in Southern livery from 1923 to 1947.

The steam engine is a Southern Railway (Ex South Eastern & Chatham Railway) H Class 0-4-4 Tank Loco number 1521, built at Ashford in 1909. It came into Southern Railway ownership in 1923 and then passed to British Railways upon nationalisation in 1948. It lasted in BR service until withdrawal in 1962 when it was unfortunately scrapped. However, a similar member of the class did survive into preservation and is currently in service on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

Don Breckon on ArtUK