Frederick Paul William (Paul Gell) Gell

Epithet: Artist (1918-1996)

Biography: Frederick Paul Gell (Paul Gell) was born in Manchester, 1918. His father was a career military officer serving with the Mechanical Engineers. The family was of Manx origins with grandparents and earlier generations resident in the Isle of Man.

In his early years, Gell had followed in the steps of his father, becoming an air traffic controller. However, even from the young age of sixteen, Gell was a part of the artistic community, spending much of his time with a group of Lancashire artists, which included L.S. Lowry. This led him to study at the Bath Academy of Art at Corsham, where he was taught by the well-known British artist Keith Vaughan.

Gell had several exhibitions at the Piccadilly Gallery in London in the 1950s with work very similar to Vaughan’s style of homoerotic groups of male workers (‘Bricklayers’ 1955) or Mediterranean settings (‘Sicilian Boys’), inspired by his travels in Italy. Both artists were able to use their artistic talent to express their sexuality. Gell went on to work as an interior designer with the Cunard Line where he also commissioned other artists, such as Gertrude Hermes.

As Assistant Art Director for the Midlands Area of the Arts Council and a designer for Heals and trade fairs, in 1978 he moved from London to Plymouth. Soon after, Gell retired to the Isle of Man with his partner, Martin Lister. In later life his work as a painter predominantly featured cultivated plants (such as ‘Flowers from a Painter’s Garden’, 1983) and landscapes in watercolour, alongside male nudes in interiors. Gell was a talented artist with a fascinating life story.

Occupation / profession: Artist & Interior Designer

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 1918-02-16

Place of birth: Manchester

Date of death: 1996-06-02

Place of death: Isle of Man

Name Variant: Mr Gell, Paul

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