BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS  

Alistair Macready Bell

October 21 1913 - December 9 1997

Atelier Sketch Club
Canadian Society of Graphic Artists (Member 1947-70)(Reg. Rep. 1956)
B.C. Society of Artists (Member 1949 President 1953-55)
Canadian Painters and Etchers (Member 1954)
Canadian Group of Painters (1959-61 President 1960-61)
Canada Council Senior Fellowship (1959)
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (ARCA 1965)
Printing and Drawing Council of Canada (1976)



Alistair Bell (photo courtesy Vancouver Art Gallery Library)


Alistair Bell was born in Darlington, England. He came to Canada in 1922, and later arrived in Vancouver in 1928, according to an exhibition registration form provided to the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Bell was a member of the Atelier Sketch Club, a group formed by art students taking Evening Classes at the Vancouver School of Art. The group put together an exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1940. As an evening student Bell studied under B.C. Binning.

Bell married Lorna Beatrice (Betty) Streatfeild at Caufeild, West Vancouver, on July 5 1941. Bell was 27, the bride was 38. She was also an artist.

He exhibited work in the 1944 British Columbia At Work exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Bell was on a list titled "Leading Vancouver Artists," provided to the Labour Arts Guild on April 10, 1946 by the Vancouver Art Gallery to assist in the Guild's call for entries to the second annual B.C. At Work exhibition.

He exhibited artwork in the B.C. Artists exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery beginning in 1933, and continuing to at least 1950.

He began to exhibit with the B.C. Society of Fine Arts in their 39th Annual Exhibition in 1949. After that, he exhibited with them continuously until the final exhibition in 1967.


Exhibition catalogue cover image by Bell

In 1949 he submitted three works to the B.C. Graphic exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery, but only one of them was selected for the exhibition.

Bell had solo exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1942, 1944, 1951 and 1989, the first two shows with his wife. When the Art Gallery expanded in 1951, Bell had the first solo exhibition in the new space, showing a collection of his drawings. The Art Gallery Bulletin noted that this was the first time they were able to display special exhibitions in addition to a "comprehensive review of all sections of the permanent collection."

Bell received two senior Canada Council grants - a travel grant in 1959 and a scholarship in 1967. He won the C.G. Jefferys award from the Canadian Society of Graphic Artists in 1956. He exhibited his work extensively, including many international exhibitions and a duo show at the National Gallery of Canada in 1961.

Bell retired from his full-time job at Dominion Bridge in Vancouver in 1967, and began working as an artist full-time. He specialized in graphic works, including woodcuts, wood engravings, etchings, and lithographs. He also worked in watercolour, pencil, crayon, pen, and other medium. He was represented by the Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver for many years, and had at least twelve solo exhibitions at their galleries in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto.

In 1971 the Burnaby Art Gallery mounted a large retrospective of Bell's work dating from 1935 to 1970. The exhibition consisted of 62 artworks. The poster for this exhibition had extensive information on Bell on the reverse side, noting among other things that Lawren Harris was a patron and advisor of Bell's, and that Bell had produced approximately 900 drawings and watercolours, and 100 editioned prints, to that point in time. Bell kept meticulous records about the production of his prints, the numbers sold and the remainder to be printed.

In 1982 Bell donated a huge collection of his work, almost 200 pieces dating from 1935 to 1981, to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. This collection was exhibited at the AGGV, with Ian Thom writing the exhibition catalogue. The same year Thom wrote an article about Bell for Artswest magazine, which featured one of Bell's prints on the cover.

The Vancouver Art Gallery Library has a large file on Bell, which includes transcriptions of two interviews with the artist, numerous exhibition catalogues, newspaper clippings, and other material.

Bell's work is held in many collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, and in many corporate and private collections.

Bell died at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, he was living in West Vancouver and was a widower at the time.


SOLO EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION LOCATION
1942 Feb. 3 - 15 Alistair & Betty Bell - Duo Exhibition Vancouver Art Gallery
1944 Mar. 28 - Apr. 16 Alistair & Betty Bell - Duo Exhibition Vancouver Art Gallery
1957 Zoo Drawings Vancouver Art Gallery
1971 Sept. 9 - 30 Drawings & Graphics 1935 to 1970 Burnaby Art Gallery

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
DATE EXHIBITION ARTWORK
1933 Sept. 22 - Oct. 15 VAG   B.C. Artists 2nd Annual Burrard Bridge
Gasworks
1934 Sept. 21 - Oct. 14 VAG   B.C. Artists 3rd Annual Corner in Chinatown
1935 Sept. 20 - Oct. 15 VAG   B.C. Artists 4th Annual Drypoint
1936 Sept. 18 - Oct. 11 VAG   B.C. Artists 5th Annual Low Tide in the Creek
1936 Oct. 15 - 20 VAG   B.C. Artists Chilliwack Exhibition Low Tide in the Creek
1940 April 2 - 14 Atelier Sketch Club   Group exhibition Porpoise Bay
1944 Sept. 23 - Oct. 22 VAG   B.C. Artists 13th Annual Shipyard Sketch No. 1
Shipyard Sketch No. 2
1944 Nov. 21 - Dec. 10 Labour Arts Guild   1st B.C. At Work Erecting Bulkheads
Gantry "A"
Fitting-out Dock
1945 July 3 - Aug. 26 VAG   B.C. Artists 4th Annual Summer Shipyard Sketch No. 1
1945 Sept. 22 - Oct. 21 VAG   B.C. Artists 14th Annual Stern Assembly
Under the Viaduct
1946 July 2 - 28 VAG   Jubilee Exhibition Vegetable Gardens
1947 April 12 - 13 WVCAC   Exhibition of Fine Arts Vegetable Gardens
Sleeping Bear
1947 Sept. 20 - Oct. 12 VAG   B.C. Artists 16th Annual Flower Design
The Sleeper
1948 Sept. 18 - Oct. 10 VAG   B.C. Artists 17th Annual Bridges
Cannery Floats
1949 May 3 - 22 BCSFA   39th Annual Logs in the Creek
Figure Design
Head
1949 Nov. 22 - Dec. 11 VAG   First B.C. Graphic Boats in the Creek
Zoo Sketch - Polar Bear (rejected)
Zoo Sketch - Jaguar (rejected)
1950 April 25 - May 14 BCSA   40th Annual Zoo Sketch Polar Bear
1950 Nov. 28 - Dec. 17 VAG   B.C. Artists 19th Annual From Maen Castle
Waste Land
1951 April 24 - May 13 VAG   BCSA 41st Annual Land's End
Boats in the Creek II
House by the Viaduct
1951 Summer Park Royal    BCSA Summer Exhibition From Maen Castle
Land's End
From the Window
1951 Nov. 27 - Dec. 16 VAG   B.C. Artists 20th Annual Sketch - Indian Church
Kwakiutl House Pole, U.B.C.
1952 April 1 - 20 VAG   BCSA 42nd Annual House by the Sea
Boats in Winter
Houses
1953 May 5 - 31 VAG   BCSA 43rd Annual Driftwood Root
Dead Gull in the Marsh
Tidal Marsh
1954 May 25 - June 13 VAG   BCSA 44th Annual Tidal Marsh No. 2
Tidal Marsh No. 3
Dead Grebe
1954 Sept. 21 - Oct. 10 VAG   B.C. Artists 23rd Annual Dead Grebe No. 2
1955 April 26 - May 15 VAG   BCSA 45th Annual Dead Tree
Sea Island Tidal Marsh
Marabou Storks
1955 Sept. 20 - Oct. 9 VAG   B.C. Artists 24th Annual Yellow Weed Stalks
1956 Feb. 28 - Mar. 18 VAG   BCSA 46th Annual Dead Gull No. 2
Marabou Storks
1957 March 5 - 24 VAG   BCSA 47th Annual Snow Sketch
Dead Thrush
Victoria Buildings
1958 Feb. 4 - 22 UBC   BCSA 48th Annual Dark Rock
Dead Chicken
1959 June 2 - 21 VAG   BCSA 49th Annual Lulu Island Boats
Gibbon
Totem Pole
1960 May 22 - June 12 VAG   BCSA 50th Annual Rock and Dark Sea
Totem Pole
1961 May 10 - 28 VAG   BCSA 51st Annual Les Sable d'Orlonne I
Barns Geese and Stone Wall
1962 May 8 - June 3 VAG   BCSA 52nd Annual Thorny Branch
1963 May 1 - May 19 VAG   BCSA 53rd Annual Breton Harbour
G.V. 7249
1964 May 8 - June 3 VAG   BCSA 54th Annual Wintering Boats
1964 Summer Park Royal   BCSA Summer Exhibition Bull Yak
Fishing Boats
1965 March 31 - Aril 25 VAG   BCSA 55th Annual Paul Alain
1966 May 10 - June 5 VAG   BCSA 56th Annual Steveston
Sand Dune Trees
1967 May 3 - 28 VAG   BCSA 57th Annual Trees in Sand Dunes
Dead Grebe
1968 VAG   B.C. Artists 37th Annual ?
1983 Oct. 6 - Nov. 27 Printmaking in B.C. 1889-1983 Boats in Winter (colour woodcut 1953)

References - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Refer to BIBLIO.

References - GROUP EXHIBITIONS

SOUVENIR CATALOGUE OF EXHIBITIONS OPENING THE NEW VANCOUVER ART GALLERY (refer to VAG51)

3rd BC GRAPHIC & CANADIAN SOCIETY OF GRAPHIC ART (refer to BCG57)

100 YEARS OF B.C. ART (refer to VAG58)

B.C. PAINTINGS BURNABY 58 (refer to BAG58)

ARTE CANADIENSE (refer to NGC60)

2nd BURNABY NATIONAL PRINT SHOW (refer to BAG63)

4th BURNABY NATIONAL PRINT SHOW (refer to BAG67)

BAU-XI GALLERY NORTHWEST DRAWINGS (refer to BX67)

5th BURNABY NATIONAL PRINT SHOW (refer to BAG69)

SUMMER BUBBLE (refer to BAG70)

B.C. ARTISTS' TRIBUTE TO COLIN GRAHAM (refer to AGGV74)

STONE BLOCK PLATE SCREEN (refer to BX77)

PAPERWORKS: Contemporary works on paper by BC artists (refer to AGGV78)

PLANTAE OCCIDENTALIS (refer to UBC79)

PRINTMAKING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA 1889-1983 (refer to AGGV83)

VANCOUVER: ART & ARTISTS 1931 - 1983 (refer to VAG83)

PROFILES OF A HERITAGE - Images of Wildlife by British Columbia Artists
      Published by Centennial Wildlife Society of British Columbia and Liane Davison
      1987, no ISBN, Traveling Exhibition Curated by Liane Davison
      Sofcover, not paginated, works illustrated in colour and black & white
      Includes Foreword by Patricia Bovey, Introduction, biographies, artist statements
      Includes early artwork by Louis Springett, Alan Brooks, Edward Scrope Shrapnel, Alistair Bell, Frank Beebe.

SEYMOUR ART GALLERY - A NORTH SHORE BEGINNING (refer to SEY90)

GENERATIONS - FIVE DECADES OF ART IN WEST VANCOUVER 1912 - 1962 (refer to WVMA99)

A MODERN LIFE: Art and Design in British Columbia 1945-1960 (refer to VAG04)

DAILY GRIND EXHIBITIONS (refer to DG07)

OUR CHANGING LANDSCAPE (2008) (refer to BAG08)

THE ORNAMENT OF A HOUSE - FIFTY YEARS OF COLLECTING (refer to BAG17)

88 ARTISTS FROM 88 YEARS (refer to ECU17)

References - GENERAL

BRITISH COLUMBIA - A CENTENNIAL ANTHOLOGY (refer to BCCA58)

PERCEPTION - Journal of the B.C. Art Teachers' Association
      1961 May, Volume 2, Number 2, (88 pages - unpaginated), published "twice annually"
      Includes biographical summaries and reproductions of 5 woodcuts by Bell and 4 by Sam Black

CREATIVE CANADA - Volumes One & Two (refer to CC71)
      Includes a full page of information on Bell.

FROM DESOLATION TO SPLENDOUR (refer to FDTS77)

VISUAL ARTS BRITISH COLUMBIA (refer to VABC77)

BRITISH COLUMBIA ART COLLECTION 1974-80 (refer to BCAC80)

ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS - EXHIBITIONS & MEMBERS 1880 - 1979 (refer to RCA81)

ARTISTS IN CANADA 1982 - UNION LIST OF ARTISTS' FILES (refer to AIC82)

ART BANK CATALOGUE (refer to AB87)

MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - SPRING EXHIBITIONS 1880 - 1970 (refer to MM88)

A DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN ARTISTS (refer to M)

THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA (refer to CE00)

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX OF ARTISTS IN CANADA (refer to BIAC03)
      14 references cited for Bell, including CC2, M, and RCA listed above.

WATERFRONT by James P. Delgado, Executive Director, Vancouver Maritime Museum
      "The illustrated maritime story of Greater Vancouver"
      Published by Vancouver Maritime Museum and Stanton Atkins & Dosil Publishers
      2005, ISBN 0-9732346-5-2, 186 pages hardcover first edition with dust jacket
      Artwork reproduced includes Bell print.

VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY - B.C. ARTISTS FILES (refer to VPL)

AMPHORA - Featured Artist (refer to AMP128)

THE FECKLESS COLLECTION (refer to FECK18)

GREATER VANCOUVER ART GALLERIES 1954-2020 (refer to GVAG20)
     5 references to Bell.

B.C. VITAL STATISTICS ON-LINE marriage, death (refer to BCVS)

Clippings

"Congratulations are due to the Atelier Sketch Club for their ambitious exhibition. This self-organized group of evening school students are meeting every Friday in the Holden building and an invitation is extended to all students to join."
      "Evening School" by Fred Amess
      From Behind The Palette, Vancouver School of Art Annual 1939-40

"Art Group, Youth Share City Gallery"
      Vancouver Province, April 4 1940

"Atelier Sketch Club Takes A Bow"
      News Herald, April 3 1940

"Not every day do Vancouverites have an opportunity to see a husband and wife exhibition at the Art Gallery. Alistair Bell and his wife, Betty Streatfeild Bell, are showing a group of their drawings of the human form, which will be on view till Feb. 15. (continues)"
      From "Talented Husband and Wife Have Display at Art Gallery" by Mildred Valley Thornton
      Vancouver Sun, February 11 1942

"Another interesting exhibition in the graphic arts is Alistair Bell with his strong and well-designed industrial drawings, "Stern Assembly" and "Under the Viaduct.""
      From "Graphic Arts and Sculpture Place in Gallery Exhibition" by Palette
      Vancouver Province, September 24 1945

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