John Zephaniah Bell (1794–1883) was a Scottish artist.

Life

He was born in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, where his father William Bell was a tanner, businessman and banker;

James Stanislaus Bell James Stanislaus Bell (9 January 1797 – 10 March 1858) was a British adventurer and writer who participated in the Russo-Circassian War on the side of the Circassians. Bell was involved in a case against Russia known as the Mission of the V ...

was his brother. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and then went to London where he was a pupil of

Martin Archer Shee Sir Martin Archer Shee (23 December 1769 – 13 August 1850) was an Irish portrait painter. He also served as the president of the Royal Academy. Early life He was born in Dublin, of an old Irish Roman Catholic family, the son of Martin Shee ...

.National Gallery (Great Britain), ''Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures. British schools'' (1896), p. 28
archive.org.
/ref>, page 11. Bell studied under

Antoine-Jean Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was given title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French R ...

in Paris, and was in Rome for over a year from 1825. He was portrait painter to

Maria II of Portugal , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

, and assistant to

David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...

. He married Jane Graham Hay Campbell in 1831. Bell became head of the Manchester School of Design when it was set up in 1838. He resigned in 1843 and was succeeded by

George Wallis George Wallis (1811–1891) was an artist, museum curator and art educator. He was the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum) in London. Early years George Wallis, son of John Wal ...

Works

In Paris, Bell met

David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie (16 December 1785 – 20 August 1849) was a Scottish peer and planter. Early life David was the youngest son of Walter Ogilvy, who was ''de jure'' 8th Earl of Airlie, and Jean Ogilvy.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary G ...

, who became a patron and had him decorate

Cortachy Castle Cortachy Castle is a castellated mansion House at Cortachy, Angus, Scotland, some four miles north of Kirriemuir. The present building dates from the 15th century, preceded by an earlier structure that was owned by the Earls of Strathearn. It was ...

. He showed paintings at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

and

Royal Manchester Institution The Royal Manchester Institution (RMI) was an England, English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a ...

in the period 1824 to 1865. Frescoes in the

Muirhouse Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Location The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...

mansion in Edinburgh impressed Wilkie. Bell won a prize in the

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

fresco competition of 1842. Bell was a

Sandemanian The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's word (Bible) over allegiance to Church and state to his congregation in Tealing near Dundee in July 1725 ...

and painted a portrait of

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

, of the same church. The attribution to Bell of ''

John Gubbins Newton and His Sister, Mary Newton ''John Gubbins Newton and His Sister, Mary Newton'' is an 1833 painting by Robert Burnard. It is now in the Yale Center for British Art, as part of the Paul Mellon collection, where it has the accession number B2001.2.66. Description The painting ...

'' has been withdrawn.thefreelibrary.com, ''Who was Robert Burnard?''.
/ref>

Notes

External links

WorldCat page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, John Zephaniah 1794 births 1883 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Artists from Dundee Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish portrait painters 19th-century Scottish male artists