BELL, Arthur George

1849 - 1916

Arthur George Bell was born at St Dunstan's-in-the-East, City of London on 21 February 1849, son of George Bell (1814-27 November 1890), a London bookseller in Fleet Street, and his wife Hannah née Simpson (c.1819-6 November 1875), who married at St Pancras Church, London on 24 September 1840. In 1851, Arthur was living at 2 Haverstock Terrace, Hampstead with his parents, 35-year-old George and 32-year-old Hannah and his five siblings, Mary 8, Edward 6, Edith 5, Rachel 3 and a male newly born infant. Arthur was educated at City of London School and at the Slade School of Fine Art and later a pupil of Jean-Léon Gérome (1824-1904) and Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (1837-1917) at the École Des Beaux Arts in Paris. Arthur married at Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire in 1882, the author and translator, Nancy Regina Emily Meugens (2 September 1844–30 August 1933), and the eldest of their three children, Kenneth Norman Bell, was born at Sutherland House, Southwold, Suffolk in 1884. A painter and illustrator and in 1888 a member of the Ipswich Fine Art Club when he exhibited three paintings 'The River Blyth', 'Return of the Haymakers' and 'The Landing Place' and was a exhibitor at the Royal Academy from Westcroft, England's Lane, South Hampstead in 1879 'Our Playground', and from York House, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn in 1905 'The Jewish Synagogue, Nuremberg', in 1906 'The Clock Tower, Dinan', in 1907 'One of the Highways into Holland' and 'The Windswept Valley', in 1910 'Old Meadows Green with Grass', in 1911 'Passing Clouds' and 'The Gravel Quarry', in 1912 'Mervagissey Harbour in the Winter' and 'Richmond Bridge' also showing at the Royal Institute of Painters in Oil Colours and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water-Colour. By 1891, they had moved to 'Ruthkeah', St Catherine's Road, Christchurch, Hampshire and by 1911 had left Hampshire for 42 Queens Road, Richmond, Surrey. Arthur George Bell died at 'Rastgarth', Foxholes Road, Southbourne-on-sea, Bournemouth, Dorset on 24 September 1916, aged 67 where he had been living since at least 1912. His wife Nancy's (Nancy D'Anvers) books include a series 'An Elementary History of Painting' (1883); 'An Elementary History of Art' (1888); 'Masterpieces of the Great Artists AD 1400-1700' (1893); 'The Student's Handbook of Art' (1895); 'Thomas Gainsborough' (1897); 'Representative Painters of the XIXth Century' (1899); 'The Saints in Christian Art' (1901-04); 'Tintoretto' (1905); 'Paolo Veronese' (1904); 'Architecture' 1913; 'Mantegna' 1911. Nancy also wrote tourist guides, travel books, lives of saints and translated the text of James Jacques Joseph Tissot's 'The life of our Saviour Jesus Christ; three hundred and sixty-five compositions' with her husband illustrating several of her works.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from West Croft, England's Lane, West Hampstead
1879 620 Our Playground
1881 131 On the Meuse
         1386 Baiting the Line
from Bramerton, Hampstead Hill Garden, Hampstead
1882 135 Feeding Time
1884 663 On the Granite Pier, Honfleur
         1000 The Lieutenance, Honfleur - watercolour
from 4 York Street, Covent Garden, Westcentral London
1886 652 The Toll Bridge, Streatley
         906 Fairies of the Day
1887 200 'Sweete Themmes runne softly'
         232 The Home of the Wild Fowl
         373 'For winter's wrath...'
         462 Quiet Flock
1888 208 Haymaking on the banks of the Thames
         353 A Sunny Day at Southwold
         531 Autumn Gold
1889 1421 The Mail Cart - watercolour
1890 1177 Early Morning: Yarmouth Quay - watercolour
         1236 A Wet Day: Yarmouth Market Place - watercolour
1891 1212 On the River Taw - watercolour
         1239 After Sundown - watercolour
         1330 A North Devon Village - watercolour
1894 987 Market Day win the Fen Country - watercolour
1895 657 Quay of St Malo
1896 251 After Sunset
         741 Kingcups
         748 Market Day, Boston
1897 1313 The Market Place, Romsey - watercolour
1900 1242 Winter - watercolour
         1244 The Shelter on the Moor - watercolour
1901 1104 Early Morning at Bruges - watercolour
1902 679 Away to the North Sea
         898 Christchurch - watercolour
         943 In the New Forest - watercolour
1903 829 Newbury Bridge - watercolour
         855 St Giles-in-the-Fields - watercolour
1904 1018 The Rathhaus, Gotha - watercolour
from York House, Portugal Street, Linoln's Inn, London WC
1905 913 The Jewish Synagogue, Nuremburgh - watercolour
1906 992 The Clock Tower, Dunan- watercolour
1907 553 One of the Highways into Holland
1908 57 On the Romney Marshes
         99 The Windswept Valley
1910 387 'Old meadow green with grass and trees...'
1911 359 Passing Clouds
         496 The Gravel Quarry
1912 47 Mevagissey Harbour in the winter
         291 Richmond Bridge

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Works by This Artist