Cressida Bell (born 1959) is an English artist and designer, specializing in
textiles, interior design, cake decoration and illustration.
[Clifton-Mogg, Caroline]
"Lifestyle - Cressida Bell"
, '' House & Garden'', July 2010, pp. 62-70.
She is the daughter of critic, author and artist
Quentin Bell
Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (19 August 1910 – 16 December 1996) was an English art historian and author.
Early life
Bell was born in London, the son of Clive Bell and Vanessa Bell (née Stephen), and the nephew of Virginia Woolf (née Ste ...
and
Anne Olivier Bell
Anne Olivier Bell (née Popham; 22 June 1916 – 18 July 2018) was an English art scholar. She was part of the Bloomsbury Group and best known for editing the diaries of Virginia Woolf. As a member of the ''Monuments Men'', she was responsible ...
. She is the granddaughter of
Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell (née Stephen; 30 May 1879 – 7 April 1961) was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury Group and the sister of Virginia Woolf (née Stephen).
Early life and education
Vanessa Stephen was the eld ...
and great niece of
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.
Woolf was born i ...
.
She studied at
Middlesex Polytechnic
Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries of ...
,
Saint Martin's School of Art
Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of ...
and finally at the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...
in London, where she graduated in 1984 with an MA in textile design.
In July 1986 thieves broke into her studio and stole £3,000 of hand-made limited edition scarves. She appeared on Crimewatch in September 1986 to appeal for information on the crime
Her work shows some influence from her family background of the
Bloomsbury Group but she has developed her own very individual style which is more meticulous and less painterly.
Bell also decorates cakes to commission, having published a book ''Cressida Bell’s Cake Design'' in 2013.
["Cressida Bell’s cake designs are a feast for the eyes – and the stomach"](_blank)
'' The Metro'', 5 June 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
Publications
* Cressida Bell - ''The Decorative Painter'' (1996)
* Cressida Bell - ''Cressida Bell’s Cake Design: Fifty Fabulous Cakes'' (2013)
See also
*
List of Bloomsbury Group people
This is a list of people associated with the Bloomsbury Group. Much about the group is controversial, including its membership: it has been said that "the three words 'the Bloomsbury group' have been so much used as to have become almost unusable" ...
References
External links
Cressida Bell studio website
1959 births
Living people
Alumni of the Royal College of Art
Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art
English designers
Stephen-Bell family
British textile designers
{{UK-artist-stub