Miss Anne Popham 1938

Graham Bell painted "Miss Anne Popham" with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is its understated beauty, a kind of quiet observation. Bell's brushwork is so present; you can almost feel him feeling his way around the form. Look closely, and you’ll see these deliberate, directional strokes—especially in the background and the way he models the sitter's jacket. The paint isn’t overly thick, but there’s a definite texture, a kind of visible record of the painting's making. The color palette is muted, earthy, which adds to the overall mood of introspection. I love how he uses these tones to create depth and shadow, giving the portrait a real sense of presence. I'm reminded of Fairfield Porter, with that similar interest in depicting everyday life with a kind of gentle attentiveness. Like Porter, Bell finds beauty in the ordinary, reminding us that art is often about how we see, not just what we see. It's this intimate, searching quality that makes the painting so compelling.