Sheila Fell: Cumberland on Canvas
By Sophia Bowden
Hi my name is Sophia Bowden a student of art and currently gaining works experience at Gallery Northwest, an independent Contemporary Art Gallery at Brampton in north east Cumbria, UK. I had been tasked by the gallery to visit the Sheila Fell exhibition at Tullie House in Carlisle, 23rd November 2024 to16th March 2025 and write up my experience.
Exhibition poster
Sheila Fell RA FRSA (1931 – 1979) was one of Cumbria’s and, indeed, the 20th century’s most significant artists. Championed by Lowry, her expressionist landscapes showed her native Cumberland beyond the pastoral and picturesque. Though she lived her adult life in London, it was her birthplace that served as inspiration throughout her career.
Sheila Fell: Cumberland on Canvas will be the first major retrospective of Fell’s work in over thirty years. This exhibition brings together 100 works from private and public collections across the country from the likes of Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy, and those much closer to home, Abbot Hall and The Nelson Thomlinson School. It has been curated by Eleanor and Andrew Bradley, who have compiled a comprehensive catalogue raisonné of Fell’s work, set to be published in spring 2025.
Excerpt above taken from Tullie House promotions:
So with a little trepidation ( after all I knew of the name, but perhaps little of the artists work) I visited the exhibition in mid December 2024. Tullie was currently still undergoing a major renovation prior to full reopening in 2025, but access to the exhibition is available from the main entrance.
About Sheila Fell:
Sheila Fell
Born into a poor, hardworking community in Aspatria, West Cumberland in 1931, Sheila Fell was a bright and cherished only child. Her interest in art started at an early age, and at 16 she was encouraged by her art teacher, Catherine Campbell-Taylor, to enrol at the Carlisle School of Art, which was then sited at Tullie House itself. She was encouraged to work as a fabric designer in Carlisle’s textiles industry which at that time was a major employer, but Sheila was determined to instead pursue a career as a painter. From there, she went on to join the drawing and painting course at St. Martin’s School of Art in London, a brave and bold step in those days for a girl of her background.
She thrived and like many artists continued living in London for the rest of her life, but regularly returned to her Cumberland roots to renew family ties and find new subject matter to work with. Over the years, Sheila found inspiration from many sources, including the great European masters, as well as her peers and mentors, such as Frank Auerbach, Josef Herman, and L. S. Lowry.
At only 37, she was elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy, and five years later, she became one of the only three female Royal Academicians, an amazing achievement. Unfortunately, she died in 1979, at only 48 years of age, when she was at the height of her artistic power. Still, many Cumbrian artists highly regard her legacy, and her work is truly inspiring. Throughout her lifetime, and in the years since then, there have been many solo exhibitions dedicated to her work, in London and elsewhere.
Cumberland on Canvas:
The current exhibition displays an amazing variety of paintings, displaying the artist’s style and how she perceived the world. A selection of these paintings were chosen to be displayed in the exhibition by the Key Stage two children of Richmond Hill Primary School in Aspatria, to which the artist had attended as a child. The paintings have been accompanied by labels written by these children, allowing you to read their thoughts on them. I thought this was quite a nice touch, as it gave insight into how Fell’s work continues to inspire people today.
The paintings have been arranged in such a way that clearly displays the vast range of landscapes that the artist took inspiration from. Each section of the gallery has information on the specific areas the artist had depicted, which includes areas such as the Solway Coast, Maryport and North Yorkshire. There is also a section on portraits, including the artist’s depictions of her friends and family. The organisation of these works is extremely effective and does justice to this amazing artist’s work.
The painting style Sheila used is also quite unique, it differs from the way landscapes were pictured by other artists at the time. She made use of the thick texture of oil paints in strong colours to create bold meaty brushstrokes that created movement and evoke emotion. As well as this, she was not afraid of painting the less picturesque areas that she lived in throughout her life. Rather than simply focusing on idyllic landscape.she also pictured places in a way that allows the viewer to peer into the lives of the people who lived there.
Sheila Fell by Frank Auerbach
The exhibition also touches on the Fell’s connections with other artists, such as L. S. Lowry and Frank Auerbach, showcasing some of their work. Specifically, I favoured the charcoal portrait of Sheila Fell which had been done by Frank Auerbach.
This piece portrays the artist in a powerful way which emphasises her characteristics, such as her serious and confident expression and her use of eyeliner.
I also found the descriptions of Fell’s connection with Lowry quite interesting, as I was previously unaware of how close they had been.
As well as displaying the artists many paintings, the exhibition also showcased some of the artist’s tools, allowing visitors to gain insight on what she used to create her marks strokes.
There is also a superb video section of the exhibition, which offered the opportunity to gain more insight on the artist’s life in a modern visual way.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this exhibition and feel that it displayed a wide variety of the artist’s paintings as well as giving insight into what her life was like living in Britain at that time, her achievements in her short life were truly remarkable, and along with other brave female artists helped to pave the way for us all today.
It is definitely worth visiting if you have an interest in art, landscape paintings, local artists, but also the work of pioneering women in the art world.