Research Area(s)
- Mapping of the Canadian west for settlement
- Photographic representations of Prairie settlement
- Application of Spivak's concept of "worlding" to occupation of the prairies
- Photographs of Scottish immigration and settlement in Canada
- History of art in Western Canada
About me
Keith Bell studied History at Hull University and Art History at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He is a specialist on early 20th Century British Art and is the leading expert on Stanley Spencer. He has published three books on Spencer including Stanley Spencer: A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings and Stanley Spencer (both Phaidon Press); he has also curated several Spencer exhibitions, notably Stanley Spencer, R.A., for the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1980.
Research
Spivak mapping photography settlement western Canada
Current research interests include the mapping of the Canadian west for settlement, in particular H.B.C. handwritten maps and journals, and photographs of Scottish immigration and settlement in Canada, including a study of the departure of immigrants from the Outer Hebrides. He is also investigating the application of Spivak's concept of "worlding" to the occupation of the prairies.
Other research interests include the Scottish photographers Hill and Adamson, photographic representations of Prairie settlement and the history of art in Western Canada. He was co-curator (with Dan Ring) of the exhibition Plain Truth (Mendel Art Gallery, Glenbow Museum and Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery) and contributed a catalogue essay "Professional Photographers in Western Canada: Constructing the Great Lone Land."