About Us
The Braithwaite Gallery was founded in York city centre in 2000 by husband and wife team Mark and Anne Braithwaite, initially inside the Stonegate Antiques Centre, relocating to its current site at the crossroads of Stonegate and Low Petergate in 2002, just yards from the Rose Window of York Minster.
Anne can usually be found in the Gallery framing workshop, or on the shop floor talking to customers. She loves finding new artists for the Gallery portfolio, ensuring there is always something to suit every taste and budget. Chances are, if you order something for delivery, it will be Anne who packs it up for you, creating a 'pass the parcel' multi-layered style package to ensure your artwork arrives safely - who knew box packing was such a skill?
Our people
The Gallery is an independent, family run business, owned by artist Mark Braithwaite and his wife Anne, helped by a fabulous team of dedicated sales and framing staff.
Many of the gallery staff are talented artists themselves.
We work closely with a carefully selected portfolio of publishers and artists, many of whom often visit the Gallery in person for events or just to say hello!
The Gallery has a huge selection of local themed artwork in a variety of styles - from traditional watercolours to quirky and contemporary paintings. Some of our artwork has been produced exclusively for us. With this in mind we hope to offer something for everyone, and our team is there to help you find exactly the right piece of art for you.
It's important to us to have a great relationship with our artists, and we are especially thrilled by the relationship we have with artist Sam Toft, who created an amazing artwork titled 'Looking After Eachother' in memory of Jake Braithwaite, which has helped us raise more than £4000 for charity.
The Gallery is an official stockist of Jack Vettriano limited editions. In addition to Jack's limited editions, we also stock his open edition poster prints, and mounted miniatures, so there's a Vettriano artwork to suit the budget of all his fans!
Linda Mellin is a gallery favourite; her artwork is full of activity and life. We were thrilled to be featured in Linda's Within the Walls York print - can you spot Mr and Mrs B?
One of our most recent additions is artist Dotty Earl. Her Tall Stories collection of quirky whimsical paintings are full of memories and nostalgia. We were again delighted when Linda painted Same Time Tomorrow and included the Gallery!
Resident Artist
YorkArtist, Mark Braithwaite provides much of the Gallery's artistic talent.
Mark has been a constant on the York art scene for decades - from supporting himself through University by working as a pavement artist outside York Minster, to selling prints of his work on a stall licensed by City of York Council, to opening The Braithwaite Gallery in the heart of York.
Since those early days, Mark has built up a huge body of work, and has an impressive portfolio of clients, both private and corporate, including Deloitte UK, Nestlé UK, GMB Union, The Signal Regiment and The Royal Artillery of the British Army, and Ampleforth College.
Mark has featured as cover artist for the prestigious Artists and Illustrator magazines, been a finalist in competitions run by Canon UK, The Fine Art Trade Guild, The Guardian Newspaper and Bankside Gallery. He has had a one man show at stately home Newby Hall.
Nevertheless, on sunny days, Mark can still be found working outdoors on his stall by St Michael le Belfry church, sketching and talking to his fans. The rest of his time he paints in oils or watercolour in his studio, creating his instantly recognisable palate of rich intense colours.
Our Charities
It's very important to us to 'give back' to the community around us. We regularly run art related fundraisers to support a good cause or charity. We also donate the levy raised from carrier bags to charity.
Since 2023 we have been supporting PAPYRUS, a charity focused on prevention of suicide in the young. Several of our artists have generously donated artwork to raffle or sell in aid of PAPYRUS. We also have a JustGiving page for this charity.
Our Mind fundraiser for mental health charity Mind, which ran from 2022-22, raised £5825. Huge thanks must go to artist Sam Toft, who created 'A Picture for Jake' in memory of Jake Braithwaite, who tragically died in 2018. The Gallery has a JustGiving page where contributions to Mind can be sent.
Previous causes have been Dementia UK, Choose2Youth, SNAPPY York, York Minster, NHS Charities Together, the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal for Ukraine and the York Flood Appeal.
The Gallery is proud to be a member of:
