TREVOR BELL (British, 1930 - 2017)
Geometric Abstract Folded Form, 1969
Acrylic on cut paper with folded artist intervention
Signed in pencil "Trevor Bell" and Numbered "6 / 25" (verso under fold)
65.5 cms x 100.5 cms
Provenance:
Exhibited Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland 1970 (label verso)
Acquired by Ian Arnott - DA DipTP RSA RIBA FRIAS
Architect Modernist Designer of "The Rink", Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland
Winner of Royal Scottish Academy Gold Medal for Architecture
Sold with original drawing for "The Conservatory" The Rink, Gifford (see image).
Private Collection United Kingdom
[with] Contemporary Art Management

Trevor Bell, the last of the St Ives modernists was an English Leeds-born artist and contemporary visual artist. Bell was awarded a scholarship to attend the Leeds College of Art between 1947–52 and encouraged by Terry Frost, moved to Cornwall in 1955. Bell was drawn to St Ives, Cornwall as at that time it was the epicentre for British abstract art being the home to the St. Ives Group of artists such as Patrick Heron, Peter Lanyon, Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Terry Frost. From these artists, especially Nicholson, Bell received advice and help. Nicholson encouraged him to show in London, and Waddington Galleries gave Bell his first solo exhibition in 1958. Patrick Heron wrote the introduction to the exhibition catalogue, stating that Bell was the best non-figurative painter under 30. The following year, Bell was awarded the prize for painting at the Biennale de Paris.

Bell stayed in St. Ives for five years, constantly developing his technique and painting language, but in 1960 was offered the Gregory Fellowship in Painting at the University of Leeds, so he moved back to his hometown. It was during his time at the University of Leeds that Bell developed his shaped canvases, which set his work apart from other abstract artists of his generation. In the 1960s, Bell showed work in exhibitions in the UK and USA including, a major touring exhibition covering 1966–70, organized by the Richard Demarco Gallery in Edinburgh, that traveled to Belfast and Sheffield. During this time, his work was bought for the Tate collection.

In 1973, Bell presented his new work at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, having just taken part in a major exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. Over the next 30 years, Bell combined painting with teaching in various locations, eventually moving to Florida State University, Florida, in 1976 to become the Professor for Master Painting. Herewith, the provision of a warehouse-sized studio and time to develop the painting he produced new and powerful work. Bell called them his “heatscapes,” reflecting the influence of the sub-tropical climate and landscape on him and his work.

Bell spent the next 20 years in America before returning to west Cornwall, whose dramatic coastlines were an influence upon him, permanently. In 1985, Bell was included in the London Tate Gallery’s, St Ives, 1939–64 exhibition and in 1993, he was part of the inaugural show of the Tate St Ives, where he was again re-established as part of the St Ives artists.

Bell moved back to Cornwall in 1996 and was invited by David Falconer, the former Director of Millennium (Now Anima-Mundi), to have a solo exhibition in St Ives, which has culminated in a long-term relationship with the gallery and its Director Joseph Clarke. Trevor Bell died on 3 November 2017, at the age of 87 after a short illness.
 
Ian Arnott - DA  DipTP  RSA  RIBA  FRIAS

Educated at Galashiels Academy, School of Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art; School of Town and Country Planning and Edinburgh College of Art.  Awarded the Andrew Grant Scholarships;  Post–graduate Scholarship to study Town Planning. From 1955-1957 Ian was a Flying Officer with the Royal Air Force.  He then worked as a Project Architect with Robert Matthew & Johnson-Marshall.  Ian was the Senior Project Architect at Eric Hall & Partners before founding Campbell & Arnott with William Campbell in 1962.  He retired as Chairman of Campbell & Arnott Ltd in 1994 and undertook consultancy work; arbitrations; expert witness work; assessor in awards and competitions. Ian has won numerous awards including the Royal Scottish Academy Gold Medal for Architecture, ten Civic Trust Awards, one RIBA Award, two EAA Awards and two Saltire Society Housing Awards.

Modern House, East Lothian : Architecture
The Rink, Haddington Road, Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland
Date built: 1963
Design: Campbell & Arnott Architects

This work of art was acquired along with Ian Arnott's original drawing for "The Conservatory, The Rink, Gifford".

Trevor Bell (British, 1930 - 2017)

Collections include:
Tate, St Ives
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Wakefield City Art Gallery
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
Trinity College, Oxford
Arts Council of Great Britain
Getty Center for the History of Art, Los Angeles, California
IBM Collection, Atlanta, Boca Raton, Florida and New York
Ringling Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Georgia

Awards include:
Paris Biennale Major Prize Winner
Gregory Fellow, Leeds University
Italian Government Scholarship
Florida Art Fellowship
Emeritus Professor, Florida State University
Honorary R.W.A
Honorary Fellow, University College Falmouth

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