He has written two books about historic artists, Bonnard (1994) and Vincent van Gogh (2015), and two more general art texts, What is Painting? Representation and Modern Art (1999) and Mirror of the World: A New History of Art (2007). Bell also regularly contributes essays on art and allied subjects to the London Review of Books and the New York Review of Books. His work as a painter can be viewed at www.jbell.co.uk.