‘The Gardener’. Image: Pinterest: Linda Patterson.
William Henry Parkinson (1863 – 1916) was a Bradford artist and photographer. His father, also named William, was a Master Printer, who died when William jnr. was in his early teens, leaving his mother, Elizabeth, to look after him and his sister, Clary. The family lived with Elizabeth’s parents at Rooley Lane, Bankfoot, Bradford.
After leaving school, William became an apprentice artist-photographer. At that time, in the early years of photography, the two skills were intertwined, when photographs were often hand-coloured, retouched, or embellished.
William eventually established his own photographic studio at 115 Newton Street, West Bowling, Bradford; see below example of his work. (Image: Pinterest: Linda Patterson)
Photographers, who were also proficient artists, would often paint commissioned portraits from photographs supplied to them, so William, who was also a talented artist, was in a good position to find work. One of the portraits he painted (see below) was of the celebrated Bradford-born actress and singer, Gertie Millar, feted for her beauty and popular for her performances on stage in musical comedies. An oil portrait of a celebrity, like Gertie, would be sold for a good price in its original form, as well as reproduced in prints to sell to her admirers.
Portrait of Gertie Millar (1893). Image: in a private collection.
In 1884 William married Annie Cowman and the couple made a home at Newton Street, Bowling and raised 5 children.
In addition to his photographic work, William also painted a wide range of land, coastal, and Victorian genre scenes. He had an eye for what subjects were proving popular in late Victorian and Edwardian homes in the city and he exhibited his artwork both regionally with the Yorkshire Union of Artists, and in London, including seven works at the Royal Academy.
Bradford Museums and Galleries have two of his landscape paintings in their permanent collection, including the one shown below.
Trees in a Sandy Landscape, Heysham. Image: Bradford Museums and Galleries;