William Bradley (1801–1857) was an English portrait artist.
Biography
Bradley was born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England. He was left an orphan when only three years of age. He started life as an errand boy, but his taste for drawing prevailed and at sixteen years of age he began practice as an artist. He took portraits at one shilling each and advertising himself as "portrait, miniature, and animal painter, and teacher of drawing". He had a few lessons himself from
Mather Brown
Mather Brown (baptized October 11, 1761 – May 25, 1831) was an American painter who was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was active in England.
Early life
Brown was the son of Gawen and Elizabeth (Byles) Brown, and descended from the Rev. ...
, then in high repute at Manchester; and at the age of twenty-one went to London, where he was fortunate enough to obtain an introduction to Sir
Thomas Lawrence
Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at ...
, who gave him encouragement.
After remaining some years in the metropolis, in the course of which time he paid occasional visits to Manchester, he finally, in 1847, settled down in the latter town; where, as in London, he enjoyed a large share of patronage. Amongst the portraits painted by him are those of Lords
Beresford,
Sandon,
Denbigh,
Bagot, and
Ellesmere; Sir
E. Kerrison,
John Gladstone, B. Heywood,
James Emerson Tennent
Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet, FRS (born James Emerson; 7 April 1804 – 6 March 1869) was a British politician and traveller born in Ireland. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 June 1862.
Life
The third son of William ...
; Col. Currieton, C.B., Col. Anderton, the Rt. Hon.
W. E. Gladstone,
Sheridan Knowles,
W. C. Macready
William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor.
Life
He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the t ...
. As an artist Bradley undoubtedly possessed high talent. His heads are remarkable for skillful drawing, and he was not second to any man of the day in producing a striking and intellectual likeness. During his later years his health failed, his mind was affected, and he lost the money he had made in his early career. He died in 1857.
Two of his oil painting portraits and a number of prints of his work are in the collection of the
National Portrait Gallery, London.
Search the Collection: William Bradley (1801–1857), Portrait painter
National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
Sir George Thomas Smart by William Bradley.jpg, Sir George Thomas Smart
Sir George Thomas Smart (10 May 1776 – 23 February 1867) was an English musician.
Smart was born in London, his father being a music-seller. He was a choir-boy at the Chapel Royal, and was educated in music, becoming an expert violinist, orga ...
Sir Robert Seppings, 1767-1840 RMG BHC3019.tiff, Sir Robert Seppings
Charles Swain by William Bradley.jpg, Charles Swain
External links
2
William Bradley, Masterworks and Sketches
References
*
Attribution:
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Thomas William
1801 births
1857 deaths
English portrait painters
Artists from Manchester
19th-century English painters
English male painters
19th-century English male artists