SILSDEN art enthusiast Colin Neville has published a new book about local artists of the past.

Lesser Known Artists of the Bradford District (1860-1997) profiles and illustrates the life and work of 20 artists including the painters Marie-Louise Pierrepont (Countess Manvers) and Frances Watson Sunderland, both from the Keighley area. 

He has written about both artists in the Keighley News as part of his voluntary efforts curating the website Not Just Hockney which chronicles the lives and works of the district's past artists.

Colin said: "The 20 artists featured in the book may be ‘lesser-known’ now, but in their heydays that certainly was not the case for most of them.

"On the contrary, many of them enjoyed considerable success and acclaim for their artwork in their lifetimes.  But sadly, in the art world, as with many other spheres of life, unless your work is continually in the public arena, your name can quickly fade from sight. 

"I hope though, that the book will revive interest in these neglected artists, as they all contributed to the cultural legacy of the district and their artwork certainly deserves to be better known."

The other artists featured in the book are the painters James Arundel, Myriam Burton, Margaret Firth, James Hardaker, Fred Jones, Jack Prior, Gertrude Priestman, Angus Rands, William Charles Rushton, William Capeling Stevens, Wilfred Tapp, Kershaw Schofield, and Norman Tennant, plus the textile artist, Louisa Pesel, and print-maker/illustrators, Nancy Preston, Richard Bayer, Laurence Schofield, and Godfrey Wilson.

Over 100 colour and black and white examples of the artists’ work and contemporary photographs are featured in the book, which costs £10, postage free, and is available from the website notjusthockney.info,  with profits from sales going to support the community-run Silsden Town Hall.