Not Just Hockney showcases forgotten artists on Bradford Big Screen

Colin Neville, who curates the Not Just Hockney website, says: “There are some very interesting characters among the artists to be featured on the screen over the next two months. Marie-Louise Butterfield, for example, came from a wealthy Keighley family and later became Countess Manvers when she married into the Pierrepont family in Nottinghamshire.

She was a very talented painter who created a huge and impressive body of artwork, including many portraits of family and staff at her homes. Much of it now is on show at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire and at Cliffe Castle, Keighley.

“Despite the apparent privilege of her life, she experienced great personal tragedy when she lost within a two-year period two of her three young children to illness.

“Cowan Dobson is another largely forgotten local artist, but one who was hugely successful in his lifetime because of his portraits. His talent was nurtured and encouraged by his well-connected socialite wife, Phyllis Bentley, who used her London social networks to gain many commissions for Cowan from the many rich, powerful and influential figures of the time in London and elsewhere.

Portrait of a Boy by Cowan Dobson (Image: Colin Neville)

“If local landscape paintings are your thing, you don’t have to look far before you discover the work of Walter Christopher Foster and Brian Irving. Both men loved and painted the landscapes of both the Aire and Wharfe valleys.

“The bulk of WC Foster’s work was discovered in a family loft over a decade ago by his grandson, the late Dave Foster, who did a superb job in restoring them and bringing them to public attention again. WC Foster’s work was well ahead of the time too, in his use of colour, which still shines out today. Brian Irving was a sheep farmer and milkman for much of his working life and was also a gifted self-taught artist who painted what he saw around him in the Wharfe Valley. His paintings are now in many collections, including my own.

“Ethel Mallinson is another gifted painter whose work is in my own collection. She is sadly now a largely forgotten artist, which is a great pity as her work deserves greater recognition for the clarity, detail and use of colour in her paintings.

Dutch Market by Ethel Mallinson (Image: Colin Neville)

“Another artist recognised in his time, and still today, for the precision of his work is Fred Cecil Jones. Fred had a sharp eye for the humorous in everyday scenes and the detail of his paintings really jumps out of the frame at you - marvellous stuff!”

Chimney Stacks and Winding Ways Whitby by Fred C Jones (Image: Colin Neville)

The ‘Past Bradford District Artists’ presentation on the Big Screen starts on Friday, March 1 and can be seen at 12.30pm daily until the end of April. Here are Colin’s profiles of each of the artists featured on the Big Screen:

* Marie-Louise Butterfield (1889-1984) was the only child of Frederick and Jessie Butterfield of Cliffe Hall, now Cliffe Castle, Keighley. She studied art in Paris and later painted many architectural scenes and portraits. She married Gervas Pierrepont, who inherited the title of 6th Earl Manvers for the family estate at Thoresby Hall, Nottinghamshire; Marie-Louis became known thereafter as Countess Manvers.

* Cowan Dobson (1893-1980) was born in Bradford. He became a leading portrait painter of well-known society, political and military figures. His sitters included Amy Johnson, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, and King Olaf of Norway. His portraits can be found in many public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and Imperial War Museum.

* Bingley artist, Walter Christopher Foster (1885-1929) studied art at the Royal College of Art then worked locally in education, including at Bingley Grammar School and the Shipley School of Art. In his own time he painted Yorkshire land and seascapes, his work is characterised by the bold use of colour and light.

* Brian Irving (1931-2013) was a successful self-taught artist who worked initially as a sheep farmer in the Bolton Abbey area. He later became a milkman in Ilkley for 25 years until failing health led to early retirement. He painted Dales landscape, animals and people, based on his own experiences, observations and memories of working in the Wharfe Valley.

* Bradford-born Fred Cecil Jones (1891-1956) was a painter, etcher and teacher. During the 1914-18 war he was a reconnaissance artist, gaining the nickname ‘Detail Jones’ for the quality and precision of his work. After the war, Fred drew and painted towns and cities of North England. His paintings are in public collections, including the Tate Gallery.

* Ethel May Mallinson (1878-1970) lived for over 50 years in Ilkley. Her watercolours were characterised by an impressionist style and subtle colouring. Ethel studied at Leeds School of Art and spent time in Paris studying art. She was a member of the Leeds Fine Art Society and was its Secretary for 40 years.

* For more on the featured artists go to notjusthockney.info

* Chimney Stacks and Winding Ways, Whitby 1936 by Fred C Jones is presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1937. Visit tate.org.uk/art/work/N04899.