Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith (also known as F. M. Bell-Smith) (September 26, 1846 – June 23, 1923) was a Canadian landscape painter known for his works of the Rocky Mountains and the

Selkirk Range The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

, Quebec and Maine.

Early life

Bell-Smith emigrated to Canada from England in 1866. He had studied painting in England at the South Kensington School of Art and worked as an artist and photographer in Montreal until 1871, when he moved to Toronto. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s he sketched, painted, and taught art classes in Toronto, Hamilton, and London, Ontario.Roger Boulet, ''Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith (1846-1923)'' (Victoria: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1977). He returned to study in Paris at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

in 1896.

Painting the Rocky Mountains

In 1886 Bell-Smith seized the opportunity to paint the Canadian Rockies when the Vice-President of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CPR), William Cornelius Van Horne, offered free travel passes to several artists who would sketch and paint vistas of the Canadian west. The CPR wanted artistic works that would heighten public interest in transcontinental travel. Bell-Smith’s stylistically conservative paintings were popular in both eastern Canada and Britain, and he frequently returned to the west to work. He was particularly fond of the natural splendour of the area around Lake Louise and by the turn of the century he made annual trips to the west. These experiences led Bell-Smith to advocate for a Canadian school of art which drew its uniqueness from the use of the Canadian landscape as its subject matter. Later artists, including Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, and the Group of Seven, contributed to this focus on Canada’s natural environment in art.

Lights of a City Street

Bell-Smith also created many paintings of late Victorian and Edwardian eastern Canada and Britain. One of his most famous and playful paintings is ''Lights of a City Street'', which portrays the intersection of Yonge and King Streets in Toronto in 1894. Bell-Smith depicted himself in the painting as the man buying a newspaper, his son is the man raising his hat, and the policeman is Bill Redford, the constable actually stationed at the corner.

Painting Queen Victoria

In connection with a series of paintings related to the death of Prime Minister Sir

John Thompson John Thompson may refer to: Academics * J. A. Thompson (1913–2002), Australian biblical scholar * John D. Thompson (1917–1992), nurse and professor at the Yale School of Public Health * John G. Thompson (born 1932), American mathematician * ...

in 1894, Bell-Smith managed to negotiate a sitting with Queen Victoria, who normally disliked having her portrait taken by anyone aside from a few select photographers. According to Bell-Smith, he followed the advice of a Canadian senator to approach Lord Clinton and

Hafiz Abdul Karim Mohammed Abdul Karim (1863 — 20 April 1909), also known as "the Munshi", was an Indian attendant of Queen Victoria. He served her during the final fourteen years of her reign, gaining her maternal affection over that time. Karim was born ...

about a sitting with the Queen, but received discouraging replies from both men. Bell-Smith was able to obtain sittings with Princesses Beatrice and Louise, whose husband, the

Marquis of Lorne John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, (6 August 1845 – 2 May 1914), usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman who wa ...

, was a former Governor General of Canada and an advocate of Bell-Smith. The Princesses used their influence to persuade the Queen to sit for Bell-Smith. The cordial sitting lasted for over an hour, during which Queen Victoria permitted Bell-Smith to position her as he wished. Princess Louise, an artist herself, offered Bell-Smith advice. The Queen also spoke to her daughters and other attendants about her grandchildren (mostly in German). At the end of the sitting, the Queen approved Bell-Smith’s work. This anecdotal episode demonstrated Bell-Smith’s influence and popularity in Britain. Indeed, Bell-Smith contemplated moving to Britain in the 1890s, but he decided to divide his time between Canada and Europe. Bell-Smith continued to paint until his death, although he was less active towards the end of his life.

Honours

He made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1886. He also belonged to the Society of Canadian Artists (1867) which he helped found; the Ontario Society of Artists (1872), of which he was made President (1905-1908); the Royal British Colonial Society of Artists (1908); the Palette Club, Montreal (1892); and the New Water Colour Society, Toronto (1900).

Gallery

File:Frederic Martlett Bell-Smith-Three Artists, c. 1883.jpg, ''Three Artists'', c. 1883 London Bridge by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, watercolor.jpg, ''London Bridge'' File:Frederic M. Bell-Smith - The Artist Painting Queen Victoria.jpg, ''The Artist Painting Queen Victoria'', 1895 Image:Westminster Bridge.jpg, '' Westminster Bridge'', ca. 1897 File:Frederic M. Bell-Smith - Mists and Glaciers of the Selkirks.jpg, ''Mists and Glaciers of the Selkirks'', 1911

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith
at The Canadian Encyclopedia
HBC Corporate Collections: Art
at Hudson's Bay Company {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell-Smith, Frederic Marlett 1846 births 1923 deaths 19th-century Canadian painters Canadian male painters 20th-century Canadian painters Canadian landscape painters English emigrants to Canada Canadian people of British descent 19th-century Canadian male artists 20th-century Canadian male artists Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts