Cuthbert Bradley

1861 - 1943

Cuthbert Bradley, Sporting artist, journalist, author and illustrator. Born in Lincolnshire, the son of the Revd. Edward Bradley, Vicar of Lenton with Harby, better known as the successful writer "Cuthbert Bede" and a keen follower of hounds, although he never hunted. Cuthbert Bradley became an architect but his great love lay in hunting and art in which he was entirely self-taught. Bradley became a highly successful sporting journalist, sometimes using the pseudonym "Whipster", and an extremely talented portrayer of hounds. He became a close friend of Frank Gillard, the famous huntsman of the Belvoir with which pack Bradley hunted for many seasons. Through this friendship Bradley was able to use many hounds from this famous pack as models and it also enabled him to write "The reminiscences of Frank Gillard, Huntsman with the Belvoir Hounds 1860 - 1895". As a reporter he covered many of the leading hound shows of the day including Peterborough where it is said he never missed a year. His famous watercolour work "The Peterborough Hound Show" was shown at the Bond Street galleries of Messrs. Dickinson & Foster in 1900 and a report noted "the scheme of colour is pleasing in the quietness of its tones, but it is rather as a series of portraits that it claims attention - these are excellent". He regularly contributed articles to Fores "Sporting Notes and Sketches", at one time sharing the entire workload of the journal with George Finch Mason and R.M. Alexander. Bradley also contributed six cartoons

Cuthbert Bradley, Sporting artist, journalist, author and illustrator. Born in Lincolnshire, the son of the Revd. Edward Bradley, Vicar of Lenton with Harby, better known as the successful writer "Cuthbert Bede" and a keen follower of hounds, although he never hunted. Cuthbert Bradley became an architect but his great love lay in hunting and art in which he was entirely self-taught. Bradley became a highly successful sporting journalist, sometimes using the pseudonym "Whipster", and an extremely talented portrayer of hounds. He became a close friend of Frank Gillard, the famous huntsman of the Belvoir with which pack Bradley hunted for many seasons. Through this friendship Bradley was able to use many hounds from this famous pack as models and it also enabled him to write "The reminiscences of Frank Gillard, Huntsman with the Belvoir Hounds 1860 - 1895". As a reporter he covered many of the leading hound shows of the day including Peterborough where it is said he never missed a year. His famous watercolour work "The Peterborough Hound Show" was shown at the Bond Street galleries of Messrs. Dickinson & Foster in 1900 and a report noted "the scheme of colour is pleasing in the quietness of its tones, but it is rather as a series of portraits that it claims attention - these are excellent". He regularly contributed articles to Fores "Sporting Notes and Sketches", at one time sharing the entire workload of the journal with George Finch Mason and R.M. Alexander. Bradley also contributed six cartoons

to "Vanity Fair" (1899, 1901 and 1902) under his initials "C.B.". He painted "The Quorn at Kirby Gate with Tom Firr, the Huntsman" in retirement in 1899 and he worked for "Horse & Hound" during the 1930's as an illustrator. Amongst the books he wrote and illus. were "Foxhunting from Shire to Shire with many Noted Packs", and "The Foxhound of the 20th Century" (1914). Taken from "A Diction of Sporting Artists 1650 - 1990 by Mary Ann Wingfield.

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