Roy Abell

Roy Beverley Abell (21 January 1931 – 30 June 2020) was an English Midlands-based artist. He was born in Small Heath, Birmingham and had a distinguished career as a painter and as an art teacher.[1] He studied at the Birmingham College of Art and at the Royal College of Art in London, returning to Birmingham to teach at his former college from 1957 to 1982.[2] He was made head of the painting school[3] in 1974 and served as a member of the West Midlands Arts - Fine Arts Panel.[1]

Seagulls and Sea by Roy Abell, Oil on Canvas

Abell's paintings were a response to the visual world around him, painting using both oils and watercolour. His subjects were vast and wide ranging, however his principal subjects were figurative and landscape, most particularly the wild landscapes of Spain, England, Scotland, Wales and especially the rugged coast of Pembrokeshire.[1]

Abell exhibited in many solo and joint exhibitions across the country and his work is represented in public collections all over the UK: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, National Museum of Wales[4] and Arts Council of Great Britain. Abell received a number of commissions during his career, most notably one of the six Alexander Howden Jubilee Awards - Great British Achievements in 1977.[1]

Abell was also a cricketer, a right-handed batsman and leg-break bowler. Abell played for Warwickshire Second XI from 1960 to 1968,[5] and played one first-class match for Warwickshire in 1967.[5][6][1] He took four wickets against Cambridge University on debut at the advanced age of 36.

He was the first bowler to take 1,000 wickets in the Birmingham League.[7]

To see more of Abell's work and watch him talk about his life in paintings in a short film, visit his website www.royabellartist.com.[8]