Born in Yorkshire, he was one of the artists associated with "Ye Attick Art Club" in Barwick-in-Elmet. He had a studio in Barwick from 1896 to 1914, and drew caricatures for the Yorkshire Evening News under the name "The Hermit". He enjoyed brief fame as a caricaturist for the Illustrated London News, working from a studio in Chelsea. Returning to Yorkshire, he produced a series of pictorial articles entitled "The Mellow Shire" for the Yorkshire Post.