Francis Dillon Bell New Zealand, 1821-98
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Where to buy or sell art works by Francis Dillon Bell
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About Francis Dillon Bell
Sir Francis Bell arrived in Auckland in 1843 as an agent purchasing land for the New Zealand Company. Later, as Commissioner of Crown Lands, he assisted in the rapid settlement which took place in the 1840s and '50s. From the 1860s onwards, Bell devoted himself to politics, to his pastoral property and, as time permitted, painting. He was an active watercolourist interested in recording his new surroundings. Bell held Cabinet posts and was elected Speaker of the General Assembly. In later life, he served on a royal commission on Maori lands and was a distinguished Agent- General for New Zealand in London.
Since 1970 we have recorded only one work being sold at auction by this artist, which was in 1988.
Francis Dillon Bell is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 19
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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