The first direct experimental observation of an electric quadrupole (E2) absorption transition between bound states of an atomic negative ion has been made. The transition was observed in the negative ion of bismuth by resonant (1 + 1) photon detachment from Bi- via P-3(2) -> P-3(0) excitation. The E2 transition properties were completely independently calculated using a hybrid theoretical approach to account for the strong multilevel electron interactions and relativistic effects. The experimental and ab initio theoretical results are in excellent agreement, providing valuable new insight into this complex system and forbidden transitions in negative ions more generally.