Sheila Mary Fell Art for Sale at Auction

Painter, b. 1931 - d. 1979

Born in Aspatria, a small mining town in Cumberland, Sheila Fell won a scholarship to the local Nelson Thomlison School in Wigton, where she was encouraged to pursue art at college. She enrolled at the Carlisle School of Art, followed by Saint Martin's School of Art, training under Roland Vivian Pitchforth and John Napper. Although she went on to settle in London, she frequently returned home and the Cumbrian landscape remained the chief theme in her work.

In London, Sheila Fell quickly built a large circle of friends and led a bohemian lifestyle. In 1955, at the age of 24, she held her first exhibition, being the youngest artist to exhibit her work at the Beaux Arts Gallery in Bond Street, London. It was on this occasion that she met L S Lowry, with whom she developed a close friendship. Lowry supported her career, purchasing many of her paintings and joining her on sketching trips to the coutryside. Sheila Fell tragically died at the age of 48, following a fall at her home in London.