FALMOUTH ART GALLERY has acquired an historic masterpiece by the St Ives artist, Trevor Bell.

The monumental painting called Five Bar, wanted by major public galleries in America, was acquired by Falmouth Art Gallery with financial assistance by three national funding bodies, The Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Trust, The National Art Collections Fund, including Trevor Bell and Barbara Spring of the NACF, and the MLA/Victoria & Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund.

At the age of seventy six, Trevor Bell is from the pioneering group of artists in St Ives during the 1950s that included Peter Lanyon, Bryan Winter, Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton and Sir Terry Frost. In 1958 Patrick Heron declared the 28 year old Bell to be the best non-figurative painter under 30 in Britain.

The work, Five Bar, is considered by some experts to be his best work from his best period. It was painted in Florida after the artist witnessed the first night time launch of Apollo 17 on the 7 December 1972.

The purchase was kick-started by an award of £7,000 from The Nerys Johnson Contemporary Art Fund. Nerys Johnson was an artist and curator who died in 2001. In her will she arranged for all the works created by her to be sold and the proceeds used for purchasing works by living artists to be donated to public galleries.

Falmouth Art Gallery used the award to access a £23,000 grant from the Artfund and a £10,000 grant from MLA/V & A Purchase Grant Fund.

The remaining shortfall of the £45,000 for the painting was raised through local contributions.