THIS is a self-portrait of John Bradley (1787-1844), a house and sign-painter who deservedly called himself an artist.

He was one of four founder members of the Keighley Mechanics’ Institute and is credited with having designed their 1834 building.

As an artist, he recorded a number of early 19th century local scenes, such as Corn Mill Bridge, ‘Mr Craven’s Walk-Mill’ and the Airedale Heifer of East Riddlesden Hall. Most prestigiously, he gave the Brontë children drawing lessons.

In an unsuccessful attempt to make a living in the United States, he and his family spent the cold winter of 1831-32 in Philadelphia, where water froze in buckets in the same room as a fire.

“The women are generally handsome, and they know it,” he wrote home from America. “In summer, they go without stays, which detracts from their figure, making them appear all of a thickness, like a round dumpling.”