Artist Yolanda Bello 1989
Yolanda Bello, whose dolls are critically acclaimed for their realism, their sculptural excellence, and their rich depth of emotion, says that her goal is to design dolls that “achieve purity of expression”. Yolanda Bello’s work as a doll maker is known to sophisticated doll collectors throughout the country. She has won many prizes for her dolls in major juried exhibitions, including Best of Show awards.
Yolanda Bello was born in Caracas, Venezuela and was the founder and President of Bello Creations, Chicago based company that specialized in the production of the dolls of Yolanda Bello and of other artist on contract. She went to school in Venezuela, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. At fourteen years of age she came to the USA and has lived there ever since.
Though never formally studied art her drawings, paintings, figurines and dolls have won numerous awards both locally and nationally. One of her early paintings is now in a Paris museum. Her doll “Jessie” was the 1985 DOTY winner for Doll Design Concept sponsored by Doll Reader MAGAZINE. Her winning doll was featured on “The Today Show and highlighted in USA Today. Her design for Robins Wood’s doll “Larissa” was a 1986 DOTY winner and in 1987 another of her dolls, “Autumn”, received Dolls Magazine “Award OF Excellence”. . In 1987, Ms. Bello, earned another prestigious award when “Heather” from the Ashton Drake Picture Perfect Babies collection was voted Doll of the Year by National Association of Limited Edition Dealers. Since internet auction all the prices of the Ashton Drake collectibles have crashed to nearly nothing. Do check there and see how much they are going for. It’ll give you a better insight.
In the late 1970’s Ms. Bello started sculpting figurines as a hobby a hobby and that progressed to the art of doll making. Her dolls have always been made with an eye toward realism of life not normally associated with children’s, collectible or artist’s dolls. All of her dolls are original sculptures, finished with original designed clothes and accessories made for that particular doll. Her dolls range from angels and babies to her most popular series of children’s portraits to stylized French mimes.
Yolanda is a certified Lay Missionary of Charity (LMC), as well as a Creighton Model system instructor (CrMSI), and a Billings Instructor. Yolanda Bello is available for commission work. She can work with a wide variety of mediums, from murals, relief’s, to sculptures of bronze, fiberglass, plaster or resin. Drawings in monochrome and water color. It is her policy to serve you the consumer with artwork to not only move the heart, but inspire the spirit as well.
Yolanda Bello became well known in the doll world for her exquisite and realistic sculpts of children. She made small limited edition dolls with sizeable price tags before being commissioned to design for Ashton Drake and Knowles, where her dolls were mass produced and became more affordable. Thou more were able to afford a Bello doll this was the downfall of her limited edition collection for at the time more were willing to buy the reproductions made in the thousands than limited editions directly from Yolanda. This was the beginning of the doll artist doll and Yolanda was a leader in this industry. It was my privilege to represent Yolanda Bello with this introduction collection. Art Of Toys will be posting dolls from the original limited edition line that were the Sales Samples used for NY Toy Fair and the West Coast Toy Fair…before the number editions.
