Anne Olivier Bell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Olivier Bell
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| Born | Anne Olivier Popham 22 June 1916 London, England |
| Died | 18 July 2018 (aged 102) Firle, England |
| Occupation | Art scholar, editor |
| Nationality | English |
| Period | 1945—1947 (Monuments Men); 1972–1984 (editor) |
| Subject | Bloomsbury Group |
| Spouse | Quentin Bell (b. 1910, d. 1996) |
| Relatives | Virginia Nicholson (daughter) Cressida Bell (daughter) Julian Bell (son) |
Anne Olivier Bell (born Anne Popham; 1916–2018) was an amazing English art expert. She was famous for editing the personal diaries of the writer Virginia Woolf. Anne was also a special member of the Monuments Men during World War II. In this role, she helped protect important artworks and cultural treasures in Europe. She was even given the military rank of Major. Anne was also connected to the famous Bloomsbury Group, a group of writers, artists, and thinkers.
Contents
Anne's Early Life and Education
Anne Olivier Popham was born in London, England, on June 22, 1916. Her father, Arthur E. Popham, was an expert in Italian art. Her mother was Brynhild Olivier. Brynhild was a cousin of the famous actor Laurence Olivier.
Anne had two brothers. Her parents divorced when she was young. She later moved to Dorset with her mother and stepfather.
Becoming an Art Scholar
After her mother passed away, Anne lived with her father. She went to St Paul's Girls' School. She then tried to become an opera singer in Germany, but it didn't work out.
Anne returned to London and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Later, she joined the Courtauld Institute, where she studied art.
In 1937, Anne went to Paris for the World's Fair. There, she met an artist named Graham Bell. He painted a portrait of her, which you can now see at the Tate Museum.
Marriage and Family
After World War II, Anne met Quentin Bell. He was an artist and asked her to model for him. They got married in 1952.
In 1967, Anne and Quentin moved to a place called Cobbe Place. This was when Quentin became a professor at the University of Sussex. They had three children together: two daughters and one son.
Anne's Important Career
Anne Olivier Bell had a very interesting career. She worked in different fields, from protecting art during wartime to editing famous diaries.
Protecting Art During World War II
When World War II began, Anne was studying the artist Rubens. She joined the Ministry of Information, which helped share news about the war. She worked on photos and publications about Britain's war efforts. She also helped as an air raid warden in London.
In 1945, Anne became one of the Monuments Men. This special group worked to save cultural treasures in Germany. They also found artworks that the Nazis had stolen. Anne traveled to Germany and was the only woman and civilian in the program. She had the rank of a major.
While the men searched for hidden art, Anne was in charge of organizing and documenting everything. She even tried to talk to German art experts about returning stolen art. Her diaries from this time are now kept at the Imperial War Museum.
The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art has detailed information about Anne's important work during the war.
Working with the Arts Council
In 1947, Anne started working for the Arts Council. She helped create catalogs for art exhibitions. She also helped bring paintings from a museum in Munich, Germany, to an exhibition at the National Gallery in London.
Editing Virginia Woolf's Diaries
Anne helped her husband, Quentin Bell, with his big book about the writer Virginia Woolf. Anne organized information about Woolf's life.
Then, Anne took on a huge project: editing Virginia Woolf's personal diaries. She published them in five volumes, starting in 1977. This was a very important contribution to literature.
Anne also wrote a book called Editing Virginia Woolf's Diary. It explained how she worked on the diaries.
For her amazing work, Anne Olivier Bell received special honors from the University of Sussex and University of York. In 1984, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Saving Charleston Farmhouse
The Charleston Farmhouse was a special place where the Bloomsbury Group artists and writers lived and worked. After one of the artists, Duncan Grant, passed away in 1978, Anne played a key role in saving the farmhouse.
The Bloomsbury Group's influence was fading, and the farmhouse needed many repairs. It took six years to raise enough money to preserve it.
Charleston Farmhouse opened to the public in the 1980s. It was set up to look just as it did when the Bloomsbury Group lived there. Anne was the president of the trust that managed the farmhouse until she passed away. She was also an expert on the artworks kept there.
Later Life and Recognition
Even though the British government didn't first recognize the Monuments Men, the United States created a foundation to honor them. In 2007, Anne was praised for her contributions.
In 2014, Anne received an MBE honor for her services to Literature and the Arts. This is a special award in Britain.
A portrait of Anne, painted by Eva Vermandel in 2013, is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Anne lived with her husband in Firle, East Sussex. Her husband Quentin passed away in 1996. Anne Olivier Bell died on July 18, 2018, at the age of 102.
Selected Works
- Anne Olivier Bell, ed. (1979). The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 1: 1915–1919.
- Anne Olivier Bell, ed. (1980). The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 2: 1920–1924.
- Anne Olivier Bell, ed. (1981). The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 3: 1925–1930.
- Anne Olivier Bell, ed. (1983). The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 4: 1931–1935.
- Anne Olivier Bell, ed. (1985). The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 5: 1936–1941.
- Anne Olivier Bell (1990). Editing Virginia Woolf's Diary. The Bloomsbury Workshop.
