Sheila Fell

[3]: 66  At the age of six Fell contracted diphtheria, but her mother refused to have her admitted to hospital, instead caring for her at home.

[This quote needs a citation] But she enrolled at Saint Martin's School of Art (1949–1951) where she studied under Roland Vivian Pitchforth and John Napper.

She gained her National Diploma in Design at the age of 21, and then stayed on for a further twelve months to complete a post graduate course.

Fell augmented the grant received from Cumberland County Council by working in a night club and also at the National Gallery.

[citation needed] That first exhibition in London sold out and brought Fell to the attention of artist L. S. Lowry, who bought two paintings and a drawing, creating a friendship that would last for many years.

[6] Fell used powerful, melancholy oils of living landscape, presided over by huge brooding mountains and dark looming clouds.

Colour was always less important than tone, she painted the hills and the seas of the area she loved so well, she painted the earth and those who worked it, depicting rich brown soils, piles of potatoes, small groups of driven cattle, indistinguishable farm buildings and terraced houses running along the streets of Aspatria.

[7] Several major artists influenced her style, Cézanne, Constant Permeke, Auerbach and Van Gogh are all evident in parts of her early work.

[1] MacDougall, Sarah, (2014), Refiguring the 50s : Joan Eardley, Sheila Fell, Eva Frankfurther, Josef Herman, L S Lowry, Ben Uri Gallery and Museum