Bell was born in Leeds and studied at the Leeds Art College (1947-52). In 1955, at the suggestion of Terry FROST, he and his wife arrived in St Ives (on a motorbike). From a rented cottage next door to Karl WESCHKE, they moved to another cottage later bought by Roger HILTON after they had left.  While in St Ives, Bell shared a studio with Brian WALL and became a member of the Penwith Society in 1956.

The Italian government provided two government scholarship periods in 1959 whereby Bell was able to spend 3-4 months each time near Tivoli, after which he returned to Britain.  Bell left St Ives in 1960. A series of teaching posts followed at Leeds, Bradford, Winchester, Hornsey and in the USA at Florida State, Tallahassee. His reputation as both an abstract artist and a brilliant colourist soared internationally.

A solo exhibition of Bell's work was held at the Tate St Ives in 2004, and the year before at the Millennium Gallery, St Ives. He returned to Cornwall during the late 1990s, and lived and worked near Penzance. His extensive biography and bibliography of exhibitions, and the publications about these, is best found on the Internet search engines.

Trevor Bell died in November 2017 after a short illness.