Attention to detail is typical in the work of Ralph Hedley. He first developed his meticulous style at Newcastle School of Art where he studied under William Bell Scott.
Hedley was born at The Farriers Arms in Gilling, West Yorkshire, but he spent his working life in Newcastle where he lived in the Spital Tongues area.
He specialised in character studies of the working folk he observed. He was also sympathetic to the plight of the unemployed, the young men called up to the army for the Boer War and the widow struggling to bring up children alone. Other work developed during his career was woodcarving and political and satirical cartoons.
Hedley developed a technique using a square headed brush. This produced built up square areas of paint which created multi-angled surfaces.
