Helen Bradley

Who was Helen Bradley?

Helen Layfield Bradley MBE was an English artist born in Lees, Lancashire, England. Her oil paintings typically depict life in Lancashire as it was between 1900 and 1910.

Helen was born at 58 High Street, Lees, a village on the outskirts of Oldham. She began to paint when she was in her sixties. As popular in the United States as in the United Kingdom, her paintings now fetch tens of thousands at auction. A series of books illustrated with these naive paintings topped the bestseller lists in the early 1970s. She died on 19 July 1979 shortly before she was due to be honoured with an MBE.

Works by Bradley can be seen at Gallery Oldham.