With our weekly posts about Welland artists and significant artistic works in the city, WCN is continuing to highlight the Welland Murals.

TUGBOATS | STEFAN BELL | 1989 (located at 77 East Main Street, Welland)

Bell used what he described as a realistic technique to portray the tugboats in this mural. This tugboat – named Hector – was used in the 1920s to pull ships and barges through the old Canal. He intended to show the old boats of the waterways in their primary locations (i.e. out in the lake, going through the waterways and docking for loading/unloading). The blue bars separate the three images yet the sky above and the water below unite all the elements into one image.

This artist had a side hobby in juggling and was trained by the Ringling Brothers as well as Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was known as Ballini, The Great Fake Juggling Clown: Bell often included something about juggling in most of his paintings (such as the three juggling balls on the middle dock here).

An Austrian – Canadian, Bell was primarily a commercial artist for over two decades.(from the Welland Museum)

The exhibition Gone But Never Forgotten: A Look At Welland’s Outdoor Murals at the Welland Historical Museum is on display until the end of 2022.

Follow WCN on social media and sign up for our newsletter. We will continue – both in partnership with groups or overcoming apathy from others – to platform the issue of the Welland Murals, and to push forward in using this situation as a lever to improve civic commitment to culture (and ensuring that responsibilities are met, and will be met, in the future).