15/10/2026
From the 1870s until his death in 1891, David Brownsworth was one of Skipton's best-known artists. Painter, photographer and businessman, he was a familiar figure in the town's social and cultural life. This is the first in a series of articles exploring this forgotten family and the part they played in the life of the town.
David Brownsworth was born in Birkenhead in 1848, the son of David Brownsworth, an estate agent, and his wife Sarah. By 1864 he was attending the town's Government School of Art. He was one of many beneficiaries of a scheme established with government support and strongly promoted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to widen access to artistic training. As a result, careers in the arts, once largely the preserve of elite institutions such as the Royal Academy, became accessible to more people than ever before.
In 1871 David married Sophia Fowler in Bradford, daughter of sailor Edmund Fowler (more about Sophia next week). The couple appear in that year's census living with David's sister Elizabeth and her husband Robert Johnson in Bowling on Salem Street. David was recorded as an artist, while Sophia was listed as an "artist's wife". They had not yet settled permanently in Yorkshire, however, as their first child, Sarah Agnes, was born in Birkenhead the following year. By 1873 they were in Skipton, where their second child, Shearing, was born. The family lived on Belmont Bridge.
Brownsworth initially worked for the well-known painter and decorator Robert Smith, helping to carry out improvements and alterations at Skipton Castle in 1874-75, shortly after it became the seat of Lord Hothfield. However, as we have seen David did not see himself as a decorator and, as his obituary in the Craven Household Almanack wrote, he “ultimately abandoned his humbler avocation and adopted the calling of an artist and photographer.”
He soon established his own business and quickly became a familiar figure in the town's social life through a series of annual portrait clubs. Members paid subscriptions towards the cost of a commissioned oil portrait, making professional artwork affordable to a wider public. Meeting at venues such as the New Ship Inn and later the Red Lion Hotel, the clubs proved highly successful. New schemes were launched almost every year and, by 1881, Brownsworth was advertising his sixth club, with the end-of-club suppers becoming well-attended social occasions in their own right.
From 1879, advertisements appeared regularly in the Craven Herald and Craven Pioneer promoting his showroom at 19 Otley Street, where he offered portraits in oil, crayon and other media. His growing reputation brought commissions from across Craven, including presentation and commemorative portraits of prominent local figures such as Dr Birtwhistle, Nicholas Roberts, Josiah Atkinson, Thomas Hawkswell and John Dawson. Contemporary reports frequently described his work as "true to life" and "striking", suggesting he was held in high regard throughout the district.
The rise of photography gradually reduced demand for painted portraits, but Brownsworth adapted successfully and became an accomplished photographer. He also advertised portraits produced from existing paintings, perhaps as gifts, family keepsakes or memorial tributes. His business offered framing, restoration and cleaning services alongside photographic and artistic work.
Brownsworth's contribution to local life extended beyond paintings. He painted scenery and stage sets for dramatic productions and school performances, supplied artwork as prizes for exhibitions and flower shows, and undertook decorative work for public celebrations. He was also a member of Craven Bowling Club and the Earl of Thanet Lodge of Oddfellows. He was sufficiently well known around the town to become the subject of a Christmas cracker joke published in the Craven Herald in December 1889: "Why have you a right to pick Mr Brownsworth's pocket? Because he has pictures." The joke relied on a nineteenth-century slang use of the word "pictures" to mean money, a reference to the monarch's portrait appearing on coins.
In the final years of his life, Brownsworth suffered from Bright's disease, the Victorian term for a range of kidney disorders. In March 1891 he was "seized with a very severe attack of paralysis, from which he never thoroughly recovered", although he continued to visit his Otley Street studio and advise on the business. A further paralytic seizure about a month before his death, coupled with the onset of dropsy, led to a steady decline. The Craven Herald reported that he "gradually fail[ed] more and more", before dying on 2 November 1891, aged 42. Brownsworth "was held in high esteem, his urbanity and genial disposition securing for him many friends." He left behind Sophia and nine children, for whom, the Herald noted, "the utmost sympathy of the townspeople will be felt in their sad bereavement."
More on the Brownsworths next week…
Pictured: Adverts from the Craven Herald promoting the business, and one of the few works of David Brownsworth that remains in public ownership and in Skipton. ‘Mrs Tatham’ was painted in 1882 and hangs behind the scenes at the Craven Museum in Skipton Town Hall
