Elinor Bellingham-Smith

Elinor Bellingham-Smith (28 December 1906 – 4 November 1988) was a British painter of landscapes and still life. Her paintings are in the collections of Tate, Museums Sheffield, the Government Art Collection, Arts Council Collection and other museums and galleries.

Early life Elinor Bellingham-Smith was born in London on 28 December 1906 to Guy and Ellen (Nell) Buxton Bellingham-Smith, who were married in 1901. The painter Hugh Bellingham-Smith was her uncle. Bellingham-Smith was a proficient ballet dancer |group="nb" and began exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Art. She worked for both Harper's Bazaar and Shell as an illustrator.

M. H. Middleton reviewed the Leicester Galleries exhibition of Bellingham-Smith's paintings in November 1952:

Later in life, The Fens and East Anglia were featured in many of Bellingham-Smith's landscapes.

Personal life Bellingham-Smith and Moynihan had a son, John, who was born in 1932. The family had a governess for John and a cleaning lady for the upkeep of their home on Old Church Street. Bellingham-Smith and her husband had a busy social life. Their home became a salon to writers and other artists. In 1946, Princess Elizabeth was accompanied by her mother to the house six times to sit for Moynihan, who had been commissioned to make her portrait.

Their evenings were often spent smoking and drinking in restaurants, bars, clubs or at parties. When he turned 20, John went along with them on their evenings out. John wrote the book The Restless Lives: The Bohemian World of Rodrigo and Elinor Moynihan.

Their social life and Moynihan's affairs took a toll on the marriage. They separated in 1957 and divorced in 1960. Fields above Boxford, Government Art Collection The Sky over Wattisham, Arts Council Collection The Willow Tree, Harris Museum & Art Gallery