On Thursday, 27th March, Forum Auctions hosted its Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper sale, featuring a remarkable highlight, The North Wind, a rare watercolour by celebrated English writer Emily Brontë. We are delighted to announce that this exceptional piece is now on public display in the Brontës' hometown of Haworth, West Yorkshire, at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

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⁠During the early 19th century, the now-legendary Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, grew up in Haworth alongside their brother Branwell and parents, Patrick and Maria. The family lived at the Haworth Parsonage, where Patrick Brontë served as the local church reverend. Following the early death of their mother, the Brontë children remained at the Parsonage, nurturing vivid imaginations and a shared love for literature, poetry, and storytelling.

Together, the Brontë sisters created a remarkable literary legacy. Emily Brontë is best known for her iconic novel Wuthering Heights (1847), while Charlotte Brontë penned beloved works such as Jane Eyre (1847), Villette (1853), and The Professor (1857). Anne Brontë also made her mark with classics including Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). Their brother, Branwell Brontë, shared their creative upbringing and initially aspired to be a painter. However, his career was marred by personal struggles, including alcoholism, opium addiction, and unfulfilled ambitions. Tragically, he died at the age of 31 in 1848.

In 1928, the Brontë Society acquired Haworth Parsonage to preserve and celebrate the legacy of this extraordinary literary family. Today, the museum continues to honour their enduring influence, and the return of The North Wind marks a significant moment in reconnecting the public with Emily Brontë’s artistic vision.

We invite visitors to experience this rare and evocative artwork in the place that inspired so much of the Brontës’ creative genius.

The Brontë Parsonage Museum hold an exciting calendar of exhibitions and installations and festivals. Learn more about their upcoming events here.

The North Wind was painted by Emily Brontë in 1942, while Emily and her sister Charlotte stayed at Belgian girls' boarding school the Pensionnat Heger in Brussels. It was at Pensionnat Heger that Charlotte fell in love with her married teacher Constantin Heger which significantly influenced her writing, particularly her novels "Villette" and "The Professor".

We know from Charlotte's letters that Emily was taking drawing lessons in Brussels, and she was almost certain to leave some of her work there. The present drawing is a rare example of an early drawing by Emily, published and recorded in Brontë literature throughout the 20th century, and with unbroken provenance.

'Unlike Charlotte and Branwell, Emily left few drafts, few exercises, to tell the story of her apprenticeship in painting. Her drawings and rough sketches are as fragmentary, and as elusive of interpretation, as her surviving poetry... Judging by surviving examples, Emily made fewer copies of engravings than her siblings.' [op. cit. The Art of the Brontës, 1995, pp.105-106]

'The painting, a water-colour, is a portrait of a girl with wind-swept hair, wearing a white dress with a blue cloak thrown rather loosely round her. The tradition of the family is that the picture is called "The North Wind". It is not clear how it earned this title... [but] It will be remembered that Anne Brontë wrote a poem called "The North Wind" and Emily one called "A Wreath of Snow", in both of which poems a captive girl welcomes the cold because it reminds her of her native northern mountains.' [op.cit. Wier, 1949].
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Brontë Parsonage Museum, Church Street, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8DR

Opening Hours:
Wednesday to Monday: 10am-5pm
Tuesday: Closed

For more information

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bronte.org.uk