Edward Bell studied art at

Brighton College of Art Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

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 offe ...

. He worked as a freelance photographer and illustrator for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' and ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' magazines. He was commissioned for portraits for album covers for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

('' Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'' and

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass ...

) and

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...

(''

Sons and Lovers ''Sons and Lovers'' is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It traces emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and his suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers, which exert c ...

''). He has exhibited widely on the London art scene and his work covers many genres from life paintings to bronzes, from pop art to landscapes. Bell was also the subject of a film by the artist Marcus Thompson, titled ''Edward''.

Background and education

Edward Bell was educated at

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and, though originally a major boys' public school in the Victorian era, it is now co-educational, enro ...

and went on to study art at Brighton College of Art (now the

Faculty of Arts (University of Brighton) Founded as the Brighton School of Art in 1859, the University of Brighton School of Art and Media is an organisational part of the University of Brighton, with courses in the creative arts, visual communication, media, craft and fashion and textil ...

). He took a

Graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

degree at

, along with amongst others, the author and designer

Roger Kohn Roger Kohn is a designer and author. He studied with Rowan Gillespie at York School of Art and is the Irish sculptor's biographer. Education and career Kohn was educated at Marton Hall Preparatory School and Pocklington School. After a year at ...

; and from there went on to take an MA in photography at the

. According to Bell's own account of his time at the Royal College, he clashed with the head of department and 'refused' the MA he was awarded,

"Studying photography at the Royal proved a disappointment, for them and me. The then head of department would have been more suited to coaching a rugby scrum. I reacted, and on being awarded the MA refused it in disgust. (It turned up months later in the post.)"Artist's website

Bell worked as a freelance photographer undertaking various iconic art projects including work for Vogue and

, as well as the album cover for David Bowie's '' Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'' of which he has written:

"This client was dressed in an insipid yellow, short sleeved shirt and bright red trousers, but most damning of all he wore dark glasses to examine the pictures. I was introduced to: “David” “David who?” “David Bowie” I stood corrected, and to my astonishment we got on together. He wanted an album design within the week. OK no problem. The image for ‘Scary Monsters’ was produced".

After ‘dropping-out’ of the London art scene, and for a while becoming a self-confessed

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addict BBC Shropshire, Theatre and Arts Reviews, 16 May 2005, ''Edward Bell is Back'' Bell took 'time out' in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. His return to the Art World in 2003 was marked by an exhibition in Gallery 286, London, entitled
Re-nude
'. It was closely followed by ''Pulse'', a collection of symbolic abstracts:

“I believe us all to be a combination of black and white hearts and life about crossing out as many black as possible. Here I depict the varied combinations of black white, tranquil, tortured, grey, craven, colourful,
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
, monstrous …."

Recent work

Bell's work has tended to be focused in two areas; nudes and

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

. His recent exhibition of landscapes in oil ''Stunning Moments'' at th
Arterie Gallery
in

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

was described by BBC Shropshire in the following terms:

"The speed of painting is one of the most enthralling aspects of the exhibition. Amid the complex abstraction of colour and landscape, there's an engaging simplicity of brush strokes, light and shade. The speed of capture also translates into an energy, even within some of the darkest backdrops, punctuated with their small, almost horizontal flashes of iridescent colour."

Bell's latest exhibition ''One Sky''
Gallery 286
is a series of skyscapes and

, painted '

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

' in oil on canvas or board.

Additional information

In 2005, Bell was among the many artists, including Sir

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...

and

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...

, who produced a postcard, selected by Bernard Williams of Christie's, for the ''Art of Care'' Auction in Edinburgh.

Exhibitions

* One Sky, October 2008, Gallery 286 London * Emigration, June 2008, Stronach Gallery Co. Galway * Pulse, 2006, Gallery 286 London * Re-Nude, 2003, Gallery 286 London * Original Bowie works 2021, The Dory Gallery Llangollen

Gallery

Image:Bell exhibition invite 2.jpg, ''One Sky'', 2008. Invitation to an exhibition by Edward Bell. Image:Ed1(Landscape).JPG, Landscape in oil, by Edward Bell

References

External links

Artist's webpage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Edward Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Brighton British illustrators Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts Alumni of the Royal College of Art British photographers People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College