Leland Bell
Leland Bell (September 17, 1922 – September 18, 1991) was an American painter.
Leland Bell was a self-taught painter whose passion for the discipline of painting has inspired and influenced many. He was also a fierce advocate for artists that he admired. In the early years of his career these included Karl Knaths, Jean Arp, and Piet Mondrian. In these early years he worked as a guard at the Museum of Non-Objective Art.[1] In the mid-1940s his allegiance to abstract painting receded after he formed a friendship with Jean Hélion, and Bell subsequently became a champion of Hélion, Fernand Léger, Balthus, Alberto Giacometti, and André Derain.[2][3] Bell was also a jazz aficionado and drummer.[4]
In 1944 he married the painter Louisa Matthíasdóttir (1917–2000), whose figurative style influenced his work.[5] In contrast to Matthíasdóttir, who worked quickly, Bell labored over his paintings, sometimes for years.[5] The couple had a daughter, Temma, in 1945. The family divided their time between New York and Matthíasdóttir's native Iceland.
Bell was active as a painter, teacher, and lecturer. In 1987, he had a retrospective exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. He was diagnosed with leukemia in the 1980s, and died September 18, 1991.[6]
References[]
- ^ Webber, N. F. (1986). Leland Bell. Hudson Hills Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-933920-34-7
- ^ Sarah Kennedy. "Zac Posen Will Design For Delta Airlines - Observer". Observer.
- ^ Perl, Jed, ed. (1999). Louisa Matthiasdottir. New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 60. ISBN 1-55595-197-X
- ^ Perl, Jed, ed. (1999). Louisa Matthiasdottir. New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 56. ISBN 1-55595-197-X
- ^ Jump up to: a b Perl, Jed, ed. (1999). Louisa Matthiasdottir. New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 68. ISBN 1-55595-197-X
- ^ Perl, Jed, ed. (1999). Louisa Matthiasdottir. New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 178. ISBN 1-55595-197-X
External links[]
- NY times Obituary
- lelandbell.com
- artnet.com profile
- oilonlinen.com bio
- museum.oglethorpe.edu/LelandBell profile
- observer.com
- theartstory.org/artist-bell-leland career analysis
- amazon.com/Leland-Bell-Nicholas-Fox-Weber biography
Family
- 1922 births
- 1991 deaths
- 20th-century American painters
- American male painters
- Deaths from leukemia
- Deaths from cancer in the United States