Frederic Martlett
Bell-Smith was a well-known figure in 19th and early 20th
century Canadian art history, who worked in the British Academic Style
(also called High Victorian Style). He was a painter of his age:
interested in the great spectacle of nature – concerned with capturing
the beauty and boldness of the rugged Canadian landscape.
Aptly Bell-Smith was equally engaged with images of progress in the
new world, such as the cityscapes in which he lived and studied. He
desired to paint what he saw with delicacy and accuracy to light and
atmosphere, often blurring and smudging multiple washes in the watercolor
medium and producing oils full of atmosphere, which captured the
historical happenings of the day as well as strict landscapes.
He painted and promoted the Canadian landscape on annual sketching
trips across the country from New Brunswick to Victoria for over three
decades, and was one of the most popular and prolific painters of the
Canadian Rockies of his time.
Born in London,
England in 1846, Frederic studied with his father, John Bell-Smith, a
respected painter of miniature portraits. His technical training began at
the South Kensington School of Art in England. The development of
photography forced portrait artists such as John Bell-Smith to pursue
other artistic interests, which is probably the reason for their
immigration to Canada in 1867, the year of Confederation. Both father and
son missed the prominent artists' organizations, which they had enjoyed in
England, and were instrumental in founding the Society of Canadian Artists
in Montreal. Frederic was also named a founding member of the Ontario
Society of Artists in 1872, and was named an Associate of the Royal
Canadian Academy upon its formation in 1880.
Bell-Smith first
visited the Rocky Mountains in 1887 under a promotional program designed
by the President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, William Van Horne. He
continued to travel west until 1918.
Along with the photographer William Notman Jr. and the painter
Lucius O'Brien, Bell-Smith was among the first to take advantage of the
offer, which gave him access to such vistas as Banff, Kicking Horse Pass,
the Fraser Valley, and Victoria Harbor.
He wrote of his experiences in “An Artist’s Reminiscences on
his Rocky Mountain Works” for the Canadian Alpine Journal.
Selected
Collections
Agnes
Etherington Art Gallery, Kingston, ON
Alma College, St. Thomas, ON
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, ON
Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg, ON
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON
Confederation Centre for the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, AB
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK
Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery, Victoria, BC
McCord Museum, McGill University, Montreal, QC
McIntosh Art Gallery, London, ON
Museum London, London, ON
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
Nutana Collegiate Institute, Saskatoon, SK
Provincial Archives of British Columbia, Victoria, BC
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON
Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, ON
Toronto Public Library, Toronto, ON
Trent University, Peterborough, On
University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver City Archives, Vancouver, BC
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, AB
