PRESS RELEASE - August
25, 2003
“Artist Thomas Currie-Bell Drawings to be shown
at Southold Historical Society”
SOUTHOLD, NY. The Southold Historical Society is
proud to announce the upcoming exhibition of the drawings of prominent “Peconic
School” painter Thomas “Tom” Currie-Bell (1873-1946). This is the first time
the works selected for this exhibition have ever been displayed to the public.
Born in Scotland, Thomas Currie-Bell was raised in the
community of Landsdale Terrace in Edinburgh, Scotland. His family was a
prominent one, his father being a successful leather merchant who owned large
real estate holdings in Edinburgh. As a child, Tom lived in the family
residence; a three story stone mansion named “Braid View,” which was built by
his father in 1874.
Tom was a talented child, producing his first work at the
age of seven. He would later train at the best institutions in Britain,
including The Royal Institute of Art (Edinburgh, The Royal Scottish Academy
(Edinburgh), and The Royal College of Art (London). Tom taught at the Royal
Institute of Art from 1912 through 1918 and became a well known portrait painter
to Scottish high society.
During the summer months, the Currie-Bell family would
spend their holidays in northern France. Here Tom indulged his passion, and
painted colorful, impressionistic scenes of the area. The villages of
Concarneau, Caudebec, and the coastline of northern France were popular subjects
in his early works.
In 1919 Tom’s wife, Charlotte Emily Jacobsen, died,
probably due to the great Influenza Pandemic that would eventually kill tens of
millions of people around the world. Tom, now widowed, spent much of his time
between living with his sister in London and painting in France.
In 1928 Tom met Ann Hallock, a native of Southold, while
she was on a trip to Europe. Following a brief courtship, the two were married
in 1929 and spent the rest of their lives in Southold, New York. Tom began
painting portraits of society in America after his arrival, and continued to
work until shortly before his death in 1946.
Currie-Bell was undoubtedly at his best when he was
drawing. The quality of his sketch work and preparatory drawings, both in chalk
and pencil, was outstanding and won him many awards. The majority of this work
dates to his earlier years, though he did continue to sketch throughout the rest
of his life.
A special selection of his drawings, dating from the late
19th century through the 1940’s, are the focus of the current
exhibition. They include several nudes, portraits, and book illustrations.
“People tend to forget,” commented Geoffrey Fleming, Director of the Society,
“that Thomas Currie-Bell was one of the best academically trained painters
working in Southold during the first half of the 20th century.”
Included in this show are large drawings, done on brown
paper in black chalk highlighted with white chalk. These drawings, many of
which were used to develop the artist’s skills in anatomy and as a draftsman,
show Tom’s propensity for drawing. An exceptionally detailed chalk drawing of a
male nude, is perhaps the best piece on display in the gallery. “The detail
work is so astounding one would think they are staring at a photograph and not a
drawing at all,” stated Fleming.
Other features of the exhibition include two color pastels
created on the Currie-Bell’s honeymoon in Canada in 1929. They depict Tom and
Ann, both hard at work; Tom making sketches of local scenery, and Ann writing
letters to family and friends back in Southold.
The smallest item featured is perhaps the most telling of
Tom’s ability. It is a small drawing of a singing “putto,” created one
afternoon by Tom in his old sketchbook. It was such a wonderful discovery in
the Society’s collection that it was decided to use an image of the drawing for
the invitation and the program for the exhibition.
The exhibition of Tom’s drawings and sketches will be on
display in the Summer Gallery of the Ann Currie-Bell House. The house is
located at the corner of Maple Lane and Main Road and the exhibition will run
from September 13th through October 12th, 2003. The gallery is open to the
public on Saturday and Sunday, from 1-4 pm and by special appointment.
(For a print quality image of one of the drawings in the
exhibition, please visit the Society website at
http://www.southoldhistoricalsociety.org/new_page_2.htm.)
For further information on this exhibition, or other
Society programs, please contact the Society at (631) 765-5500.
