Educated at Leeds College of Art, he trained as a teacher and became friendly with Sir Terry Frost (October 13^th) then at Leeds University who encouraged Bell to move to St. Ives.  He arrived with his wife in 1955 and initially shared a studio in the basement of the St. Ives Mission to Seamen with the sculptor Brian Wall who was working as an assistant to Barbara Hepworth.   With his wife on board, Bell often rode his motorcycle to Zennor,  to the home of his friend, Karl Weschke (February 20^th), and he later rented a cottage at Nancledra, which would subsequently be the home of Roger and Rose Hilton (August 15^th).

He returned to Yorkshire in 1960 to teach at the University of Leeds and then taught in America before coming back to Cornwall, once more and for good, in 1996.

A major retrospective exhibition was one of the earliest solo shows of the Tate St. Ives (June 23^rd).