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, 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 combining ...

. With Frampton he created a series of designs for an altarpiece which was exhibited at the

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

Exhibition Society and later installed in the Church of St Clare, Liverpool. From 1895 to 1899 Bell was an instructor at the Liverpool University 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 Liverp ...

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, and ...

, and from 1918 to 1924 he was professor of design at the Royal College of Art. 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 ...

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, 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 in the tympanum at Westminster Cathedral from sketches left by the architect John Francis Bentley; the work was completed in 1916. Bell worked from 1922 on mosaics for the Palace of Westminster. Depictions of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

of Ireland and

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

of Scotland 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 Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æthe ...

and another showing Edward III presenting the design for St Stephen's Chapel to his Master Mason, Michael of Canterbury. 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. 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. T ...

. 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 d ...

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 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 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

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