Sam has created an amazing collection featuring her now infamous characters, "The Mustards", Ernest Hemingway Mustard and his dear lady wife Violet along with their much loved eccentric friends and pets. This page showcases Sam's mounted open edition miniatures.
Ernest lives in a not-so-damp flat on the Brighton/Hove border with Violet, his dear lady wife, and Doris their grumpy and rather portly Jack Russell Terrier.
His work as a part time Hurricane Predictor and Professional Tuneless Hummer has made him lots of friends along the Prom: the beautiful Audrey — could she be Ms Hepburn reborn as a sheep? — Horace Duck, and the lovely Rover, a melancholy goldfish with tunnel vision and a good heart.
The Braithwaite Gallery has been lucky enough to work with Sam for a very long time. She sometimes comes to York for exhibitions, sometimes just to say hello. She has been generous with her time and talent, particularly in helping us with charity fundraising.
Sam returned to The Braithwaite Gallery in York on Sunday 20th September 2026 for our very special First & Finest Exhibition and Meet the Artist event. In the run-up, we released one exclusive Gallery Remarque Edition every Tuesday evening at 8pm — each one individually hand-drawn by Sam. These are among the rarest pieces we have ever offered, so do keep an eye on our Remarque Editions collection.
In 2020 Sam created ‘Looking After Each Other (a picture for Jake)’ in memory of Jake Braithwaite, which helped the Gallery raise £5,000 for mental health charity Mind. In 2022 Sam sent us Time To Make Memories — an original artwork plus four uniquely remarqued limited editions from an exclusive set, which helped us fundraise in aid of PAPYRUS, a charity focused on the prevention of suicide in young people. We raffled edition number one and sold the other three to raise funds for this important cause, alongside a substantial donation from the sale of the original. The PAPYRUS fundraising campaign raised £18,984 in total, donated via JustGiving. We are deeply grateful to the customers and artists whose generosity made this fundraising possible. PAPYRUS entered administration in September 2026, so this information is retained here as part of our fundraising history rather than as a current donation appeal.
Sam’s 2026 calendar was self-published as a limited edition, available only from Sam herself, her local bookshop in Brighton and The Braithwaite Gallery, here in York. We were thrilled to be part of this exclusive club. On Jake’s birthday in 2025, Sam generously donated £1 from the sale of each calendar to PAPYRUS, a charity we had supported together since his death. This contribution is retained here as part of our historical fundraising record.
© Sam Toft
