Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith was born in London, England and died in Toronto, Ontario. His earliest training was under his artist father. He then attended the South Kensington School of Art under Alexander Hamilton until his family emigrated to Montreal, Quebec in 1867. Subsequently, he studied in Paris at the Academie Colarossi under Joseph-Paul Blanc, Gustave Courtois, and Edmond-Louis Dupain. The artist arrived in London, Ontario in 1881 where he was appointed Art Director of Alma College (St. Thomas) 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.
Bell-Smith 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.
His works were very popular in his lifetime. He painted portrait, genre, and landscape subjects in both oil and watercolor in the impressionistic, picturesque, and sublime styles of the 19th century. Bell-Smith also won many international honors in his career.
His known White Mountain paintings are titled Woods, North Conway (1883); White Mountains at Sunset (1886); and Crawford Notch from Mount Willard (1895).
Signature
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- 1895
Reference
Loch Gallery, Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary