Alfred Ackrill (1907-1988) was a well- known painter and draughtsman based in Oldham, now part of Greater Manchester. Although highly talented, Ackrill came from a modest background and wasn’t able to pursue a career as a full-time artist. He had won a scholarship in 1921 to study at Oldham School of Art and although he attended art classes for many years he had to work full-time in order to support his family. He became an important member of Oldham Art Society and painted regularly, in particular in and around Oldham, Manchester, Cheshire and in North Wales. Ackrill came to the attention of a much wider audience when fifteen years after his death, Manchester Art Gallery staged an exhibition of his work under the title ‘Alfred Ackrill: A Manchester Impressionist Rediscovered’. In 2011 Oldham Art Gallery held an exhibition ‘The Ever Changing Face of Oldham’ featuring the work of various Oldham artists over time, including Alfred Ackrill. At that time the Senior Curator at Oldham, when referring the exhibition, commented by saying ‘Alongside major artists such as William Stott, Alfred Ackrill and Helen Bradley, there are dozens of artists who are less well-known but whose work offers an amazing insight into the artistic life of the area over the last two hundred years’.