Bessie Downes

Bessie (Elizabeth) Downes (1860–1920) was a botanical artist, especially of the plants found around Southport on the Sefton coast of Lancashire, UK.

She was born in 1860 to Thomas Ralph and Mary Collinson in Leeds, the youngest of their six children. She lived independently from a family inheritance, moving to Hull and then to Southport by 1899. In 1907 she married James Charles Downes, a retired widower with four adult children. She died on 21 May 1920.

She joined the Southport Society of Natural Science in 1902 and continued as a member after her marriage. The society included a botanical special interest section. Her skill as an artist is shown in her surviving paintings. There are 314 watercolours, held initially at the Botanic Garden Museum in Southport but now at the Atkinson in Southport. These are mainly of flowers but also include sea shells, bird's eggs and butterflies. There was an exhibition of her work at the Atkinson from June to September 2019.