‘Gathering Wild Roses, near Blackwell, Carlise’. Image courtesy of AskArt
Thomas Bushby (1861 – 1918) was a painter and lithographer, born at Eccleshill, near Bradford.
His maternal grandfather was Jeremiah Fennell, a monumental sculptor, from Harewood and Thomas revealed a talent for drawing from an early age. He was employed as a nine year old in a local woollen mill and at eleven began taking art lessons at the local Mechanics’ Institute, followed by a short period of part-time study at Saltaire School of Art.. By sixteen years of age he was apprenticed to a lithographer, S.O. Bailey, in Bradford.
When he was 21 he relocated to London to work for 2 years, but by the age of 23 he had moved to Carlisle. Here he was employed as a designer with Hudson Scott and Sons, later the Carnaud Metalbox Company. His employers encouraged him in his painting, and his work attracted the attention of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle. He subsequently exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of Arts, Royal Cambrian Academy, Royal Institute, Walker Art Gallery , Liverpool, and the Carlisle Art Gallery. He painted landscape and rural scenes, characterised by their pastel and light colouration.
‘At Wreay’. In a private collection. Image: Invaluable Art Auctions.
Thomas travelled widely and worked in Norway, France, Switzerland, Italy and Holland and his work was shown in the ‘Cumberland Artists 1700-1900’, exhibition of 1971 and his work is represented in the collection of Carlisle Art Gallery and regularly appears at auction.