The archive is a long-term resource for researchers, curators and scholars.

Holdings include:

• Approximately 100 paintings spanning six decades
• Around 180 prints, including major etching and aquatint series
• Around 2,000 drawings and works on paper, including sketchbooks
• A number of copper plates from which key prints were made
• Archival photographs of works, studios and exhibitions
• Exhibition catalogues and fliers (United Kingdom and France)
• Monographs, essays and published responses
• Estate documentation, including conservation records and photographic cataloguing

Nature and Purpose of the Archive

The archive contains relatively few administrative papers or correspondence. Its strength lies in the breadth and continuity of surviving artworks and working materials, which provide evidence of:

• Working processes
• Stylistic and thematic development
• The evolution of compositional and printmaking approaches
• Connections between the London, Bungay and Gascony periods

The archive supports:

• Museum and gallery research
• Planning for exhibitions and loans
• Provenance research and authentication
• Scholarly writing
• The long-term development of a catalogue raisonné

Access

Enquiries from curators, scholars and accredited researchers are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Michael Fell Estate welcomes requests to reproduce images of Fell’s work in scholarly books, catalogues, journals, exhibitions and public lectures.

Non-exclusive permission for print and digital formats is normally granted on a case-by-case basis, subject to standard credit lines and receipt of full publication details.

Image files are supplied for research and publication use only and must not be materially altered, further licensed or reused without prior written agreement.

Scholars are asked to deposit a copy of any resulting publication with the Estate for archive and catalogue raisonné purposes.

Credit lines supplied on individual work pages must be reproduced in full in all publications and displays.

The Estate is undertaking phased work toward a full catalogue raisonné of Fell’s paintings, drawings and prints.

Existing holdings, archival materials and newly surfaced works are being documented to build a comprehensive scholarly record.

Inventory numbers are unique identifiers assigned sequentially by medium and are fixed once published; numbering does not imply date order.

The Estate’s approach follows established scholarly practice, prioritising documentation, transparency and revision over fixed interpretation.

Researchers or owners of works by Fell are invited to contact the Estate with information that may assist this long-term project.

Michael Fell did not routinely date his work. Dates given on this site reflect the Estate’s best current assessment, based on documentary sources, stylistic comparison, materials, studio photographs and exhibition records.

The following conventions are used throughout the catalogue:

• 1972 — a specific year is documented (for example through inscription, exhibition, acquisition or archival record)
• c. 1972 — an approximate year, based on available evidence
• 1970–1975 — the work is believed to have been made over a period of time or cannot yet be assigned to a single year
• 1970s or 1970–1979 — a decade attribution, used where more precise dating is not currently possible

Dates and attributions are reviewed and updated as research continues.

The Estate is committed to the preservation of artworks and archival materials.

Works are generally stable, reflecting Fell’s studio habits. Condition is assessed on a case-by-case basis for loans, publication and display.

All conservation measures are recorded in internal Estate records. Ongoing cataloguing and digitisation include further condition assessments to support future exhibitions and loans.

The Michael Fell Estate is committed to the responsible care, documentation and circulation of the artist’s work.

The Estate maintains and catalogues the surviving body of paintings, drawings and prints; supports provenance and research enquiries; and provides guidance on authenticity, dating and attribution.

The Estate does not provide valuations or financial advice.

All activity is undertaken with the aim of preserving the integrity of Michael Fell’s work and its documentary record for future scholarship.

A selection of recent developments relating to the work and legacy of Michael Fell:

2026 — Website
Launch of www.michaelfellartist.com, an English- and French-language website supporting scholarship and research.

2025 — Cataloguing and storage of prints
Fell’s prints catalogued and placed in professional storage arrangements.

2024 — Publication of The Art of Michael Fell
The first comprehensive monograph on Fell’s work, edited by Andrew Wilton, with contributions by William Packer, Adrian Bartlett, Revrd John Summers and Katie Alice Fitz Gerald.

2023 — Artist’s Estate Inventory
Completion of an initial survey of studio holdings following Fell’s death, forming the basis for ongoing cataloguing.

2023 — Studio photography, Barrère
Lucy Dawkins and Joe Humphrys photograph Fell’s studio in Barrère, recording works there and at other locations for the Estate archive.

2014–2022 — Exhibitions in the Gers
Regional exhibitions at Chapelle de Las (2014) and Rozès (2022), focused on the Gascony landscape work.

2010 — Bankside Gallery, London
With Love from France, a solo exhibition at the home of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.