Few Victorian artists were as well acquainted with the institutions of Bedford as Austin. Not only did he paint their exteriors, but he also spent notable time inside them. He was incarcerated in Bedford Prison for debt on two occasions and received treatment for monomania in Bedford Lunatic Asylum in 1848. Born in London, Austin came to Bedford around 1832 and lived in the town for more than twenty years. He pursued a number of occupations, including carpentry, building and lithography, though his claims of architectural work have not been substantiated. Austin left Bedford in 1853, moving to Oxford where he produced further lithographs much in the same style as those he produced in Bedford. He died in 1860. 

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