William Bell Scott

William Bell Scott (1811-1890) was a Scottish pre-Raphaelite painter and poet. He was a friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and is known today for his memoirs (published in 1892), which contain anecdotes about the pre-Raphaelite circle. This website aims to introduce Scott and his works and to make him better known as an artist in his own right.

Credit: National Galleries of Scotland

This website is divided into the following categories: Biography, Paintings, Illustrations, Poetry and Writings.

Biography. Scott was an intimate friend of the Rossettis and other major figures in the pre-Raphaelite movement.

Paintings. Scott may be best known for his paintings of Border history at Wallington Hall in Northumberland. But Scott also painted many other pictures in the pre-Raphaelite style.

Illustrations. Scott learned the art of engraving and etching as a young man. He illustrated his books of poems, and also published separate series of illustrations.

Poetry. Scott published five books of poems from 1838 to 1882. Some of his early poems deserve to be considered among the first pre-Raphaelite poems, and had a major influence on Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Writings. Scott was an art historian and critic who wrote more than a dozen books. He was particularly knowledgeable about Albrecht Dürer and the Little Masters of the early sixteenth century.

Contact Information. The author of this website is working on a biography of Scott, with a catalogue raisonné of his artworks. Information about works by Scott in private collections would be greatly appreciated. Please e-mail to williambellscott [at] gmail.com.

Links. Other interesting websites can be found here.