A rare opportunity to buy sought-after paintings of the late Dorset artist Chris Jonzen – younger brother of the internationally-celebrated painter Basil Jonzen and his famous sculptor wife Karin – will be held at an exhibition of his remaining works on July 20 at the Palmer’s Brewery, Bridport.

The Chris Jonzen Exhibition at the Palmer’s wine store will comprise 22 works which have been specially released from a private collection by the late painter’s Dorset-bred family.

Mr Jonzen’s family has decided to sell the paintings ‘because we wanted people from the county which gave Chris so much joy to have the chance to own something by one of its great characters’.

In keeping with Chris Jonzen’s lifetime and passionate support for the local lifeboat service, all monies raised at the exhibition will be donated to the RNLI.

Chris Jonzen’s peaceful landscapes and sea studies are prized in the Dorset art world, which he first joined in 1969 when he opened the legendary Sea Cow bistro on Weymouth’s harbourside, pioneering in the county the trendy Kings Road-style of Bohemian dining and indulging his love of boating.

The restaurant became famous through the county, popular with local fishermen, yachtsmen and celebrities including pop bands performing at the Weymouth Pavilion.

Despite his great success as a popular restaurateur and a colourful bon viveur, Chris Jonzen’s longing had been to be a full-time artist like his renowned brother Basil, whose work hangs in The National Collection; it was a thwarted dream until he moved to Weymouth.

After 10 years establishing the Sea Cow as one of Weymouth’s favourite haunts, Chris and Daphne moved to Abbotsbury, converting their home West Barn, and launching a new venture, the well-known Frome Valley Kitchens in Dorchester, which thrived until and beyond his retirement. It was then, at the age of 65, that Chris Jonzen finally became the Dorset painter who is prized today for his peaceful studies, painting at home in Abbotsbury from sketches made on location in Dorset, the Pennines, France and Sweden.

The Chris Jonzen Exhibition & Sale will be held at the Palmer’s Brewery wine showroom, Bridport, on July 20, from 7pm-9pm.