Robert Anning Bell (14 April 1863 – 27 November 1933) was an English artist and designer.

Early life

Robert Anning Bell was born in London on 14 April 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, the Westminster College of Art and the

Royal Academy Schools 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 purpo ...

, followed by a time in Paris.

Career

Bell was articled as an architect to his uncle, Samuel Knight. On his return he shared a studio with

George Frampton Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a British sculptor. He was a leading member of the New Sculpture movement in his early career when he created sculptures with elements of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, often combinin ...

. With Frampton he created a series of designs for an altarpiece which was exhibited at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and later installed in the Church of St Clare, Liverpool. From 1895 to 1899 Bell was an instructor at the

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

school of architecture. During this time he became associated with the

Della Robbia Pottery The Della Robbia Pottery was a ceramic factory founded in 1894 in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, England. It closed in 1906. Initially it mostly made large pieces with high artistic aspirations, especially relief panels for architectural use, bu ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

and also was becoming increasingly successful as a book designer and illustrator. In 1911 Bell was appointed chief of the design section at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

, and from 1918 to 1924 he was professor of design 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 ...

. He continued to paint and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and a ...

and the

Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

,Rose, Peter, 'Bell, Robert Anning (1863–1933)', ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Sept 2004; online edition, May 200

Retrieved 8 October 2008 as well as at the

Society of Graphic Art The Society of Graphic Art for Pornographique (renamed Society of Graphic Fine Art in 1984) is a British arts organisation established in 1999. History The Society of Graphic Art (SGA) was founded in 1999 by Frank Lewis Emanuel, whose idea it wa ...

's first exhibition in 1921. In 1921 he was elected as Master of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

. He designed the great

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

in the tympanum at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...

from sketches left by the architect

John Francis Bentley John Francis Bentley (30 January 1839 – 2 March 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture. Life Bentle ...

; the work was completed in 1916. Bell worked from 1922 on mosaics for the Palace of Westminster. Depictions of Saint Patrick of Ireland and Saint Andrew of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

were erected in the Central Lobby; in Saint Stephen's Hall, one panel was erected depicting

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

, King Stephen and Edward the Confessor and another showing Edward III presenting the design for St Stephen's Chapel to his Master Mason,

Michael of Canterbury Michael of Canterbury (fl. 1275 – 1321) was an English gothic architect responsible for work at Canterbury Cathedral and St Stephen's Chapel, at the Palace of Westminster. He also designed the Cheapside Eleanor Cross. Harvey (1950) credits ...

. The last of these mosaics was unveiled in 1926.

Personal life

His second wife was fellow artist Laura Richard whom he married in 1914 (he had previously been married to Amy Caroline Ditcham in 1900).England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837–1915, 1914 Jul–Sep Vol 1a page 1304 He had no children by either wife; Laura lost her only son (Charles Antoine Richard Troncy) by her previous husband (the artist Emile Troncy) in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He died in London on 27 November 1933, aged 70, and his ashes were interred in

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. Th ...

. A memorial to him lies above them.

Gallery

File:Edward Stott Memorial Window.jpg, Stained-glass memorial for

Edward Stott Edward Stott (24 April 1855 – 19 March 1918) was an English painter of the late Victorian to early twentieth century period. He trained in Paris under Carolus Duran and was strongly influenced by the Rustic Naturalism of Bastien-Lepage and ...

ARA at St Michael's Church, Amberley, West Sussex File:St Matthew's Church - Paisley - Stained Glass Window.jpg, Stained glass window in

St Matthew's Church, Paisley St Matthew's Church in Paisley is notable for its Art Nouveau architecture by WD McLennan, and stained glass window by Robert Anning Bell. The church was built between 1905 and and shares a small traffic island on Gordon Street with a (now ...

File:Crystal ball anning bell.jpg, The Chrystal Ball File:Robert Anning Bell8.jpg, The Magic Chrystal File:Robert Anning Bell - La belle dame sans merci.jpg, La belle dame sans merci File:Mary-travelingElizabeth.jpg, Mary in the House of Elizabeth File:Mosaic_at_the_Horniman_Museum.jpg,

Horniman Museum The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a museum in Forest Hill, London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Modern Style. It has displays of anthropology, natural history and musical ...

mosaic File:Anning bell21.jpg, Portrait of a Woman File:Bell A-flight-of-fairies 19.jpg, A Flight of Fairies, book illustration in

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...

File:Anning bell the romance.jpg, The Romance File:Fragrant posy anning bell.jpg, Fragrant Posy File:Pool AnningBell.jpg, The Pool File:Westminster Cathedral tympanum.jpg, The tympanum at Westminster Cathedral

References

External links

* *
UNCG American Publishers' Trade Bindings: Robert Anning BellCharles Lamb's ''Tales from Shakespeare'' illustrated by Robert Anning Bell
on the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

'
Digital Collections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Robert Anning 1863 births 1933 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters English designers Painters from London People educated at University College School Royal Academicians Burials at St James's Church, Piccadilly Masters of the Art Worker's Guild 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists