Peter Brook

Born in 1916, Arthur Haigh was renowned for many years as a discerning collector of modern art, mostly of work by Yorkshire artists. He built up his collection with modest sums taken from his wages as a contracts clerk. Particularly generous with artists beginning their careers, he not only purchased their work but found other ways of supporting them - such as through the purchase of materials - or even food. His home in Brighouse was full of art, despite his many donations to public collections and friends. He died in 1999. His executors generously presented the University with a selection of pictures from his house, as a lasting memorial to a retiring and modest man who was, nevertheless, a prominent figure on the Yorkshire art scene.