William Bell (1734/5 - 1794) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. A prize-winning student at the Royal Academy of Arts, influenced by Sir Joshua Reynolds, he achieved eminence in his native area, the North East of England. His best-known works are portraits of Sir John (later Lord) Delaval and his family, which are in the collection of the National Trust at Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland. Bell's portrait of Robert Harrison, 1715–1802, is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Early life The son of a well-regarded bookbinder,Mackenzie, Eneas, A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle upon Tyne, Vol. 1, 1827, p576. Bell was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1734/5. His father, also called William,Newcastle Courant, 4 January 1772 had at least eleven children; but the only son who certainly survived to adulthood was William.The register of All Saints Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, records the burial of nine infants, children of "William Bell, Bookbinder," between 1744 and 1768. The young William Bell grew up during a period when Newcastle's cultural and intellectual life was flowering. As a young adult, he may have started out as a house-painter, but by the early 1760s, he was established as an artist and married.This is known from an infant's baptism record: "William, son of William Bell, Limner," at All Saints Church, Newcastle, on 21 April 1765.
Career Bell's career was assisted by the founding of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. On 30 January 1769, aged 34, he was one of the first six students admitted to the Royal Academy Schools, where promising young artists could work in London under the direction of master painters. In that same year, he entered the annual competition run by the Academy.Edwards, Edward, Anecdotes of Painters Who Have Resided or Been Born in England, With Critical Remarks on Their Productions, 1808, pp 222, 263. His picture did not win, but he tried again in 1771 and was awarded a gold medal, which was presented to him by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the president of the Academy. The Newcastle Courant of Saturday 4 January 1772 reported his success thus: “We hear from London that Mr William Bell, son of Mr William Bell, Bookbinder of this town, has had the honour of receiving his Majesty's premium of a gold medal, value 20l, at the Royal Academy, for the best composition and painted historical picture; the subject Venus intreating Vulcan to forge the armour of Aeneas.”
No student of the Royal Academy, having won one of its medals, was permitted to enter the same competition again. Hence further prizes had to be sought from other institutions. In 1772, Bell was awarded 20 guineas for "best historical painting" by the Society of Arts,Newcastle Courant, 16 January 1773. The article cites the fuller name of the society, somewhat inaccurately.Bewick, Thomas, Thomas Bewick: A Memoir written by himself, ed. Iain Bain, OUP 1975, p114. which had been offering such prizes since 1754.
While he was studying in London, Bell spent periods in his home area, painting for Sir John Delaval. His most significant project was a series of portraits. The earliest (in 1770) were of Lady Susanna Delaval, Sir John's wife, and their two eldest children, John and Sophia. In the following year, daughters Frances and Sarah were depicted together. Later, in 1774, Bell painted portraits of Sir John and his daughter Elizabeth, thus completing a full family set. All the portraits were life size and full length, for display in the entrance hall of Seaton Delaval Hall,W. Hutchinson, A View of Northumberland, Vol.2 (1776), p331 the Delavals’ principal residence, ten miles from Newcastle.
During the following two years, Bell exhibited paintings in London. In 1775, the Royal Academy showed a pair of pictures, depicting Seaton Delaval Hall from the north and the south, and the following year the Free Society of Artists exhibited Susanna and the Two Elders.Finberg, Hilda F., Two Portraits by William Bell of Newcastle, in The Connoisseur, Vol. LIX (Jan-Apr 1921), p205. Like Bell's earlier prize-winning works, this was a large historical picture. It was the last that he painted in London.
For the next eighteen years until his death, Bell based himself permanently in the North East of England and specialised in intimate portraits, limiting his work to local commissions. His sitters included a number of distinguished people: Thomas Bewick, the engraver, "in the style of Rembrandt";Holmes, June, The Many Faces of Thomas Bewick, in Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Vol. 65, pt 3 (2007), p155. Joseph Austin, the actor-manager of the Newcastle Playhouse; Robert Harrison, the mathematician and linguist;Mackenzie, Eneas, A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle upon Tyne, Vol. 1, 1827, p 443-444 Francis Peacock, Grand Master of the St. John Masonic Lodge, Newcastle;Mackenzie, Eneas, A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle upon Tyne, Vol. 1, 1827, p595. The artist is simply named as "Bell"; this is almost certainly William Bell, whose biography Mackenzie has presented a few pages earlier (p576). and John, the son and heir of Newcastle's most gifted goldsmith, John Langlands, who was a generous benefactor to the city.Horsley, P.M., Eighteenth Century Newcastle, Oriel Press, 1971, p80. Bell was painting successfully into the 1790s, and died on 8 June 1794 in the Newcastle Infirmary, aged 60. He was buried on 10 June, at St Andrew's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Association with the Delaval Family A crucial influence in Bell's life was the patronage offered by Sir John Delaval. Delaval was a successful businessman, whose family owned several country estates (Ford and Seaton Delaval in Northumberland; Doddington in Lincolnshire) and leased a residence in central London (Grosvenor House). For a considerable period of the 18th century, the family engaged artists to produce portraits and tutor young Delavals (some of whom were quite gifted at art); among these artists was Bell, who formed a particularly strong connection with the family.
Bell was the beneficiary of John Delaval's fondness for projects. After Delaval was made a baronet in 1761, this took the form of showcasing his growing wealth and prestige by upgrading his properties. He added to the array of family portraits at Doddington Hall, employing prestigious painters such as Joshua Reynolds. Then, at the end of the 1760s, he turned his attention to Seaton Delaval Hall and employed William Bell to help him realise his plans. John Delaval was sufficiently impressed with Bell's work to offer him an annual income of £50 (about £9000 in today's money) and a cottage to live in. Bell thus effectively became Delaval's staff artist,The accounts of Seaton Delaval Hall record regular payments to "Mr. Bell, Limner." painting on a grand scale and acting as drawing master for his children.Horsley, P.M., Eighteenth Century Newcastle, Oriel Press, 1971, p160. A significant further benefit for Bell was that, when he was studying and painting in London, he was able to live at Grosvenor House, the Delavals’ metropolitan residence.
This patronage, coupled with Bell's studentship at the Royal Academy, led to a somewhat itinerant existence for several years, lodging as necessary in London but returning regularly to his own cottage, 300 miles away in Northumberland. Initially he lived in a property right next to Seaton Delaval Hall; by 1777, he was at Fountain Head, a small clutch of properties within walking distance of the Hall, on the bank leading down to the sea. In this rural setting, his wife Elizabeth had three children: Elizabeth (born 1773), Frances (born 1775) and Sarah Ann (born 1777); and here the family put down roots.
Bell became well known in the community and was eventually regarded as something of a dignitary, "Mr. Bell."In the entries relating to his daughters in the baptism register for the parish of Earsdon, he is plain “William Bell” in 1773, but “Mr. William Bell” in 1777. In 1773 his abode was "Seaton" but in 1777 it was "Ye Fountain Head." Famously he had used several local people as models for figures in his award-winning painting in 1771. Most strikingly, Vulcan, the forger of armour, was based on the blacksmith, Willie Carr. At 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 24 stones, he was renowned for his great strength. Carr and Bell were both on good enough terms with Sir John Delaval to be his dinner guests.Horsley, P.M., Eighteenth Century Newcastle, Oriel Press, 1971, p157ff.
Retreat from London Bell's career reached a turning point in about 1775. By the end of his studentship at the Royal Academy (assuming that it lasted a typical six years), he had made less of a mark in London than several of his peers: he had not exhibited many pictures at the Academy, nor had he been elected one of their Associates. His options for further advancement were to take up an offer from Sir Joshua Reynolds to become one of his regular assistant artists painting draperies, to aim for independence, or to rely on continuing patronage.
He chose the last of those options. However, it was not without complications, because his patron, Sir John Delaval, was soon precipitated into a rather turbulent period. In July 1775, Delaval's only son, Jack, died suddenly at the age of 19, and thus ended the squire's hope of passing on his estates to an heir. Then, by the end of the year, a long-running family dispute over property left Sir John angry with a brother who lived in London. This seems to have made it less comfortable for Bell to stay at his patron's residence, while in the capital. During the exhibition season of 1776, Bell lodged “At Mr. Thickbroom, Organ Builder, New Round Court, Strand”, and thereafter he made no further effort to pursue a career in London.
Bell returned to his cottage in Northumberland, and remained in the employ of Sir John Delaval, without (as far as is known) producing any further major works for Seaton Delaval Hall. However he (Bell) produced two paintings for the St. John Masonic Lodge, Newcastle, which opened in 1777. Since Sir John Delaval was an influential freemason, it is likely that he had a hand in this commission.
In late 1778, Bell oversaw the preparation of two engravings for William Hutchinson's book, A View of Northumberland. This illustrated guide to stately homes included a eulogistic description of "the seat of Sir John Delaval", accompanied by two views of the Hall, based on the oil paintings that Bell had exhibited in London in 1775.
During the following two years, Bell remained on the staff of Seaton Delaval Hall. There is no trace of any work from this period.
Second Period in Newcastle During 1781 or early 1782, Bell moved to Newcastle. This followed his father's death in 1780,William Bell, Bookbinder, was buried at All Saints Church, Newcastle on 23 Aug 1780. and his decision to set up his business as a portrait painter may well have been made possible by receiving an inheritance.According to the burial register of St Andrew's Church, Newcastle (10 Jun 1794), Bell was yeoman (i.e. a property owner) at the time of his death.