Robert Anning Bell

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

He was born in London in 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied at University College School, the Westminster College of Art and the Royal Academy Schools, followed by a time in Paris. On his return he shared a studio with George Frampton. With Frampton he designed a series of designs for an altarpiece which were 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 school of architecture. During this time he became associated with the Della Robbia Pottery in Birkenhead 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, 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 and the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours.Rose, Peter, ‘Bell, Robert Anning (1863–1933)’, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edition, May 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/58736] , accessed 8 October 2008]

References