Flowers
Vanessa Bell (Kensington 1879 – Firle 1961)
National Trust Inventory Number 769776
| Category |
Paintings |
| Date |
1951 |
| Materials |
Oil on canvas |
| Measurements |
330 x 230 mm |
| Place of origin |
England |
Summary description
Oil painting on canvas, Flowers by Vanessa Bell (Kensington 1879 – Firle 1961)
Full description
Oil painting on canvas, Flowers by Vanessa Bell (Kensington 1879 – Firle 1961)
Vanessa Bell was at the centre of British avant-garde art in the early 20th century. Her first husband (the critic Clive Bell), later partner Duncan Grant and her sister (the writer Virginia Woolf) have all attracted more attention, but Vanessa Bell was important in her own right. She was one of the first artists in Britain to try a non-representational approach to painting.
The flattened forms, bright colours and patterned surface of this painting of flowers signal Bell’s love of decorative surfaces. She was closely involved with Fry and Grant in the development of the Omega Workshops, which introduced a fresh sense of design and colour into everyday textiles and objects. Bell covered Charleston’s walls and furniture with vivid decoration, so that art was part of the very fabric of her life.
Provenance
Presented by Derek Hill (1916 - 2000) through The National Art Collections Fund (Art Fund) 1996
Makers and roles
Vanessa Bell (Kensington 1879 – Firle 1961), artist
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