Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

John Anderson Bell
John Anderson Bell King’s College Cambridge Chapel Interior c. 1840 watercolour

c.1840

About the Item

To see our many other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller". John Anderson Bell (1809-1865) King’s College Cambridge Chapel Interior Signed and indistinctly dated Watercolour c. 1840 53x39cm Bell was born in Glasgow; his father was James Bell, advocate and his sister Jane Cross Simpson the hymn-writer and poet. Following Edinburgh University Bell spent 1829 and 1830 in Rome as an art student, returning to the UK to serve his articles as an architect with Rickman & Hutchinson, the gothic revivalist practice in Birmingham. Subsequently he practised in Edinburgh, designing country houses, and the Victoria Buildings in Glasgow for the Conservative politician Archibald Orr Ewing in Scottish baronial style. Thirty of the engravings in John Le Keux’s magnificent 1847 book Memorials of Cambridge are from paintings by Bell; this particular painting is believed to have been painted at the same time, although not published. The Great East Window depicted in the painting was created between 1526 and 1531 by Gaylon Hone and three partners (one Flemish and two English) and – together with the other sixteen they made – represent some of the finest stained glass of their period. Here Bell has captured the colours and the light of the window in almost magical fashion. It is an interesting view as it records the chapel in the mid nineteenth century. In 1968 the installation of Rubens’ the Adoration of the Magi as an altarpiece involved the lowering of the Sanctuary floor through removal of the steps clearly visible in Bell’s view and also removal of the seventeenth century panelling around the walls. It is still felt that the chapel would have been better left ‘unimproved’ and without the Reubens, though the form recorded by Bell had itself been improved in 1906 when Detmar Blow designed a reredos. Blow’s reredos remains in storage in the College. The East window may be viewed in high resolution in the series of seven short films – accompanied by music by King’s alumnus Francis Grier – entitled Sword in the Soul.
  • Creator:
    John Anderson Bell (1809 - 1865)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1840
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 20.87 in (53 cm)Width: 15.36 in (39 cm)
  • Medium:
    Watercolor
  • Movement & Style:
    Realist
  • Period:
    1830-1839
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU79532515881

More From This Seller

View All
'The Splendid Outcast', stage designs by Rosemary Anne Sisson
Located in London, GB
Rosemary Anne Sisson (1923-2017) 'The Splendid Outcast', stage design 20 x 28 cm Watercolour (set of three) Cesar Borgia has ambitious plans and one of them is to take over the K...
Category

1960s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

'The Splendid Outcast', stage designs by Rosemary Anne Sisson

Rosemary Anne Sisson
'The Splendid Outcast', stage designs by Rosemary Anne Sisson, 1961

$401
Christ's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1842, watercolour by R.A.E Little
Located in London, GB
R.A.E Little Christ's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1842 Watercolour 20 x 26 cm Charming watercolour depicting a view of Christ's College Chapel in the mid nineteenth century. In thi...
Category

1840s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Christ's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1842, watercolour by R.A.E Little

R.A.E Little
Christ's College Chapel, Cambridge, 1842, watercolour by R.A.E Little, 1842

$1,343
Hubert Hennes New College Oxford University Cloisters sketch
By Hubert Hennes
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge , particularly suitable for wedding and graduation presents, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. Hubert Hennes (1907 - 1986) New College...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Hubert Hennes New College Oxford University Cloisters sketch

Hubert Hennes
Hubert Hennes New College Oxford University Cloisters sketch, 20th century

$1,524
Hubert Hennes New College Oxford Cloisters watercolour
By Hubert Hennes
Located in London, GB
To see our other original vintage public information posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the poster you want. Hubert Hennes (b.1907) New College...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Hubert Hennes New College Oxford Cloisters watercolour

Hubert Hennes
Hubert Hennes New College Oxford Cloisters watercolour, 20th century

$2,549
St John’s College, Oxford Canterbury Quad drawing by Bryan de Grineau
By Bryan De Grineau
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

1950s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

St John’s College, Oxford Canterbury Quad drawing by Bryan de Grineau

Bryan De Grineau
St John’s College, Oxford Canterbury Quad drawing by Bryan de Grineau

$4,710
St John’s College, Oxford dining hall drawing by Bryan de Grineau
By Bryan De Grineau
Located in London, GB
To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
Category

1950s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

St John’s College, Oxford dining hall drawing by Bryan de Grineau

Bryan De Grineau
St John’s College, Oxford dining hall drawing by Bryan de Grineau, 1955

$4,433

You May Also Like

Harry Carleton Attwood - The Resurrection - 1930s Mural Design for Eltham Hall
Located in London, GB
HARRY CARLETON ATTWOOD (1907-1985) Resurrection – Mural Design for Eltham Hall Signed with initials, dated and inscribed l.c.: Designs for Eltham Hall / 17/4/36 / HCA Watercolour ...
Category

1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Harry Carleton Attwood - The Resurrection - 1930s Mural Design for Eltham Hall

Harry Carleton Attwood
Harry Carleton Attwood - The Resurrection - 1930s Mural Design for Eltham Hall, 1935

$623
Claude Shepperson - Petrushka - Watercolour scene from the Ballets Russes
By Claude Allin Shepperson
Located in London, GB
CLAUDE ALLIN SHEPPERSON, ARA, ARWS (1867-1921) Petrushka – Scene from the Ballets Russes Signed l.l.: Shepperson Watercolour over traces of pencil Framed 30.5 by 45.5 cm., 12 by 18 in. (frame size 52.5 by 66 cm., 20 ¾ by 26 in.) Provenance: Richard C Davis...
Category

1910s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Claude Shepperson - Petrushka - Watercolour scene from the Ballets Russes

Claude Allin Shepperson
Claude Shepperson - Petrushka - Watercolour scene from the Ballets Russes, 1915

$3,463
The Prince's Room
By Willy Pogany
Located in Buffalo, NY
Born in Szeged, Hungary, he became one of the better known and successful illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration, completing over 100 books. Among them are "A Treasury of Verse for Little Children," "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." He is probably best known for pen and ink drawings of mythology subjects geared towards children. He studied at Budapest Technical University and attended art schools in Munich and Paris before moving to London at age 23. In 1907, he began illustrating children's books and did a series of annual gift books...
Category

1940s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache, Graphite, Pen, Watercolor

The Prince's Room

Willy Pogany
The Prince's Room, 1940's

$1,200
Church Interior
By Ray Quigley
Located in Buffalo, NY
A modern illustration by American artist Ray Quigley depicting two men inside of a church.
Category

1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache, Illustration Board, Ink

Church Interior

Ray Quigley
Church Interior, 1950s

$750
High Society American Interior Painting Jeremiah Goodman Parlor Ballroom Crest
By Jeremiah Goodman
Located in New York, NY
An important American 20tg century painter, Jeremiah Goodman 1922-2017, was known for his high society interior Genre/ballroom scenes of the weatlhy upper class The attached waterco...
Category

1930s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

High Society American Interior Painting Jeremiah Goodman Parlor Ballroom Crest

Jeremiah Goodman
High Society American Interior Painting Jeremiah Goodman Parlor Ballroom Crest, 1930

$4,800
Sails. Watercolor, paper, 18, 5 x 23 cm
By Zigmunds Snore
Located in Riga, LV
Sails. Watercolor, paper, 18,5 x 23 cm Zigmunds Šņore was born in 1942 in Latvia. His works has been exhibited since 1969 and are held in private collections in Latvia, USA, Sweden...
Category

2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Sails. Watercolor, paper, 18, 5 x 23 cm

Zigmunds Snore
Sails. Watercolor, paper, 18, 5 x 23 cm, 2020

$324 Sale Price
20% Off

Recently Viewed

View All

More Ways To Browse

Interior Design Drawings
Cambridge Paintings
Cambridge Glasses
John Cross
Antique Glass Bells
All Souls College
Soul Sisters
Mid Century Painting By Anderson
Gothic Engraving
Antique Wall Panelling
Antique Glass Film
Rubens Engraving
Adoration Magi
Adoration Of The Magi
Chapel Bells
John Le Keux
Large Portrait Painting
Vintage 1997
View All Popular Interior Drawings and Watercolors Searches