BRADFORD has produced some remarkable artists over the years - many internationally renowned, with work in collections worldwide. In the third book of his ‘Not Just Hockney’ series looking at past artists from the district, Colin Neville profiles a range of extraordinary men and women and the highs and lows of their lives. As with the other two books - Past Silsden Artists and Lesser Known Artists of the Bradford District, 1890-1997 - profits from sales will support community-run Silsden Town Hall. Says Colin: “Some of the highs were very high indeed. Bradford-born etcher and sculptor May Tremel is now largely forgotten but in her heyday her prints were exhibited internationally alongside some of the finest British printmakers and artists. Dorothy Bradford gained respect for her sublime paintings of musicians and dancers.
A NEW book, ‘The Highs - The Lows. Past Artists of the Bradford District’ features seventeen past local artists. The author, Silsden resident, Colin Neville, who also curates the Not Just Hockney website, has selected incidents that represent the high and low points in their lives of the featured artists. Colin said: “They don’t get much higher than exhibiting your artwork, like the etcher, May Tremel, at an international art show alongside some of the greats in British art; or much lower than an artist going blind, like Tom Butterfield; or a mixture of high and lows, like Doris Riley, who at the end of her days finally had one her paintings accepted for a London exhibition - but who then couldn’t afford the fare to go and see it on display.”