The Belfast Archive Project aims to preserve, interpret and present our vanishing photographic heritage. It has been entrusted with collections of negatives and photographic prints in order to protect them for future generations, and make them accessible through exhibitions, digital resources and print publications.

These archives include the work of some of Northern Ireland’s most respected photographers, like James Bell, Frankie Quinn (previously on display in Summer 2025), and Bill Kirk (previously on display in Spring 2025).

About The Bell Archive (James Bell)

These extraordinary images are a fraction of the archive of photographs taken by four brothers - Nelson Victor (b. 1897), James Kennedy (b. 1900), Herbert (b.1904), and Jonathan Benjamin Bell (b. 1907). These brothers shared many interests, such as photography, science, art, antiques, ornithology and boats.

We believe that most of these photographs were taken by James Kennedy Bell in 1950 during a trip along the west coast of Ireland. The brothers travelled extensively in the west of Ireland from the 1930s to the 1950s, often by caravan. They took a large number of photographs on their holiday.

"There was always the great expeditions to take the photographs… it always seemed to be Uncle Nelson, Uncle Jim and my father… we would stop all over the place taking photographs, and then the boys would get restless… we would have to stand by while we waited for another cloud to drift past so that the cloud formation was perfect." (Alan Bell)

The photographs capture the reality of life in rural Ireland, where the mode of transport was the donkey, fuel was turf, most people were barefoot, and the language was Gaeilge.

The Bell archive also includes colour Kodachrome, 8mm and 16mm moving film, material that the Belfast Archive Project are actively scanning and processing. Recognise any of the locations or landmarks in the photos? Please get in touch at curatorial@nationalmuseumsni.org and help us with our research!

© James Bell, Belfast Archive Project