Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston

Fantastic exhibition at Sotheby’s of art and artefacts by the Bloomsbury Group.

As you know I’m a Bloomsbury nut so made sure to see this show curated by fashion designer, Bloomsbury group collector and now vice chairman of the Charleston Trust, Kim Jones. The show has partly been organised to show case the 50 for 50 campaign which aims to have 50 new, important works donated or pledged by the 50th anniversary of the trust in 2030 and the show included one work which has been pledged.

There was a room of old friends from Charleston which looked a bit disjointed here. It was very odd to see cupboard doors from the kitchen without the cupboards. However the display worked well and it was nice to be greeted by busts of Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Virginia Woolf. It worked its magic as I overheard two ladies planning a trip down there.

The second room was more of a treat as it had works from private collections with some revelations like a dressing gown by Wyndham Lewis, a fun picture of a party by Vanessa and a lovely Duncan still life. Some for were for sale and it was a wonderful opportunity to see work which is not normally on public display.

Closed 26 November 2024


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