Peter Messer, with glasses and a white beard, in a paint-stained apron in his Lewes studio, surrounded by framed paintings
Peter Messer in his studio in Lewes. Courtesy University Press, Lamar University. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration.

Last updated: 28 October 2026

Peter Messer is the Lewes artist who paints small, quietly strange scenes of his Sussex home town in egg tempera, mixing his own paint from egg yolk and raw pigment. Here you will find our take on his work, where to see and buy a Peter Messer painting, and his small panel in this year’s War Child auction.

Our take on Peter Messer

Messer paints Lewes over and over: its walls, lanes, kerbs and back gardens, often with a ghost, a strange creature or an odd event slipped in. He works in egg tempera, the medium of early Renaissance Italy, and makes the paint himself. “If Raphael walked into the studio, he’d look around and see stuff he could work with because it’s the same stuff,” he told University Press in 2019.

His War Child piece takes the whole McCartney lyric as its title: Well, the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash as We Fell into the Sun. A boy in a green jumper and dark shorts sits on a grey carpet with his back to us. He is watching an old box television on a spindly stand, where a black-and-white aircraft streaks across the screen. Rain pours down the window at top left, beside patterned curtains, and a red chimney breast and tiled fireplace close the room on the right.

The detail is typical of him: the plugged-in cable, the hatched texture of the carpet, the 1960s fireplace. He is also refreshingly modest. His own auction biography says his paintings are “liked by a small group of enthusiasts and himself but are quite properly disregarded by the wider art world”. Yet he has shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition many times, and his work is in the House of Lords.

Peter Messer: the essentials

  • Born in 1954; lives and works in Lewes, East Sussex, according to his own site.
  • Studied fine art at Brighton Polytechnic, now the University of Brighton, from 1979.
  • Won the Chichester Art Prize in 1998 and was runner-up for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize in 2005.
  • Painted twelve works for the Sussex Book of Revelations, an Arts Council millennium project, and completed a commission for the House of Lords in 2004.
  • Shown regularly at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the New English Art Club, and in solo shows in Germany and France.
  • His paintings are in collections including the University of Brighton, the House of Lords and those of the folk singer Shirley Collins and Kate Bush.

Where to see Peter Messer now

  • Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Well, the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash as We Fell into the Sun (2026), egg tempera, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
  • Group show, The Fosse Gallery, Stow-on-the-Wold, 2025 to 2026.
  • Lost At Home (solo), Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes, 2025.
  • In and Out of the Woods (solo), Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes, 2023.
  • Quiet Times Close to Home (solo), Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes, 2021.

How to buy a Peter Messer painting

Peter Messer sells original paintings through his Lewes gallery and directly, and offers prints of some works through his own website. There is also a small painting in a charity auction:

  • Original paintings: egg tempera panels such as A Parliament of Rooks, 53 x 43 cm (20.9 x 16.9 in), through Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes, price on request.
  • Prints and studio works: order through his website, or contact him to ask about originals.
  • Well, the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash as We Fell into the Sun, 2026: a small egg tempera in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).

Peter Messer FAQs

Where is Peter Messer based?

Lewes, East Sussex, where most of his paintings are set.

What is egg tempera?

Paint made by mixing raw pigment with egg yolk and water. It was the main painting medium in Europe before oil, and Messer prepares his own on traditional gesso panels.

Where can I buy a Peter Messer painting?

Through Star Brewery Gallery in Lewes, or by contacting the artist through his website, which also offers prints.

Where can I see his work in London?

His War Child piece is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.

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Main image: Peter Messer in his studio in Lewes. Courtesy University Press, Lamar University. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.

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