Artist Information
Artist
Frederick Marlett Bell-Smith, RCA (1846-1923)Role
PainterDate made
n.d.Time Period
19th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in London, England, Frederick Marlett Bell-Smith was a major figure in Canadian art history. He was a well-known Canadian painter and educator, doing portrait, genre, and landscape subjects in both oil and watercolour in the impressionistic, picturesque, and sublime styles of the 19th century. His earliest training was under his artist father. He later attended the South Kensington School of Art until immigrating to Montréal with his family in 1867. Later, he studied in Paris at the Académie Colarossi. Bell-Smith was appointed Art Director of Alma College in St.Thomas, Ontario in 1881 and, the following year, Drawing Master at Central Public School. In 1888 he moved to Toronto where he was named principal of the western branch of the Toronto Art School. He continued to serve at Alma College until 1901.
From 1887, Bell-Smith painted in the Canadian Rockies. He was enamoured of the natural splendours and would return to the west many times to paint. This was done as part of the Canadian Pacific Railroad program for well-established Canadian artists to record the completion of the transcontinental railway. These artists, known as the “Railway Painters”, included Lucius O'Brien RCA (1832-1899), Thomas Mower Martin RCA (1838-1934), Forshaw Day RCA (1831-1903), Marmaduke M. Matthews RCA (1837-1913) and Bell-Smith. This work led him to advocate for a school of art which drew its "uniqueness from the use of the Canadian landscape as its subject matter." Later artists, including Tom Thomson (1877-1917), Emily Carr (1871-1945), and the famed Canadian Group of Seven, contributed to this focus on Canada’s natural environment in art. He was equally interested in capturing cityscapes, as well as historically important personages, subjects and international events.
Bell-Smith was very active in the arts community. He was a founding member of the Society of Canadian Artists, the Ontario Society of Artists, and the Western Art League. He was elected an Academician in the Royal Canadian Academy and played important roles in many local and national artistic associations. Bell-Smith also won many international honors.
