Helen Bradley (1) (1900–1979)

Helen Layfield Bradley was born in the village of Lees, near Oldham in Lancashire, England. She began her art education as a young teenager, but did not fulfill her ambition to become a painter until she was in her sixties. In 1926, she married Thomas Bradley, a painter and textile designer, and devoted the next 40 years of her life to her family. Then she met L.S. Lowry, who encouraged her to paint scenes from her own childhood. From 1965 until her death in 1979, she was an international celebrity. In 1971, she published And Miss Carter Wore Pink, an instant bestseller. It was the first in a series of four book illustrated with her own paintings. The BBC and the NBC networks made documentaries about her life, and the Northern Ballet adapted her work for the stage.