John Zephaniah Bell (1794–1883) was a Scottish artist.

Life

He was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, where his father William Bell was a tanner, businessman and banker; James Stanislaus Bell was his brother. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, and then went to London where he was a pupil of

Martin Archer Shee Sir Martin Archer Shee (23 December 1769 – 13 August 1850) was an Irish portrait painter. He also served as the president of the Royal Academy. Early life He was born in Dublin, of an old Irish Roman Catholic family, the son of Martin Shee ...

.National Gallery (Great Britain), ''Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures. British schools'' (1896), p. 28
archive.org.
/ref>, page 11. Bell studied under

Antoine-Jean Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was granted the title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the ...

in Paris, and was in Rome for over a year from 1825. He was portrait painter to

Maria II of Portugal Dona Maria II (Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga de Habsburgo-Lorena e Bragança; 4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853) also known as "the Educator" () or as ...

, and assistant to David Wilkie. He married Jane Graham Hay Campbell in 1831. Bell became head of the

Manchester School of Design Manchester School of Art on Oxford Road in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second-oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded the year befo ...

when it was set up in 1838. He resigned in 1843 and was succeeded by

George Wallis George Wallis (8 June 1811 – 24 October 1891) was an English artist, art educator, and museum curator. He was the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum) in London. Early years ...

Works

In Paris, Bell met

David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie David Ogilvy, 9th Earl of Airlie (16 December 1785 – 20 August 1849) was a Scottish peer. Early life David was the youngest son of Walter Ogilvy, who was ''de jure'' 8th Earl of Airlie, and Jean Ogilvy. G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. ...

, who became a patron and had him decorate

Cortachy Castle Cortachy Castle is a castellated mansion House at Cortachy, Angus, Scotland, some north of Kirriemuir. The present building dates from the 15th century, preceded by an earlier structure that was owned by the Earls of Strathearn. It was acquire ...

. He showed paintings at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and

Royal Manchester Institution The Royal Manchester Institution (RMI) was an English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a city l ...

in the period 1824 to 1865. Frescoes in the

Muirhouse Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Location The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...

mansion in Edinburgh impressed Wilkie. Bell won a prize in the

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

fresco competition of 1842. Bell was a

Sandemanian The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's word (Bible) over allegiance to Church and state to his congregation in Tealing near Dundee in July 172 ...

and painted a portrait of

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

, of the same church. The attribution to Bell of '' John Gubbins Newton and His Sister, Mary Newton'' has been withdrawn.thefreelibrary.com, ''Who was Robert Burnard?''.
/ref>

Notes

External links

WorldCat page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, John Zephaniah 1794 births 1883 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Artists from Dundee Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish portrait painters 19th-century Scottish male artists