Bell, Grant, Gertler
They include paintings by Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf’s sister; Duncan Grant, Bell’s friend and lover who lived with her at Charleston; and Mark Gertler, who became acquainted with the Bloomsbury group through his patron, Lady Ottoline Morrell.
I share them with you here.
Vanessa Bell, Studland Beach, 1912. An oft-visited beach in Dorset by Bell and her family. Bell uses bold colors and simple shapes, rather than emphasizing the subjects. It is likely that the figures in the foreground are Vanessa’s son Julian and his nanny.
Duncan Grant, Bathing, 1911. Based on the theme “London on Holiday,” this painting was part of the decoration for the dining room at the Borough Polytechnic.
Duncan Grant, Head of Eve, 1913. In this head of the biblical figure of Eve, grant fuses Byzantine and early Italian style with the styles of Matisse and Picasso.
Duncan Grant, Film of Abstract Kinetic Collage Painting with Sound, 1974. This is a digital film version of a scroll painting Grant composed in 1941. The music of Bach was meant to accompany it.
Mark Gertler, The Artist’s Brother Harry Holding an Apple, 1913.
Mark Gertler, Merry-Go-Round, 1916. Gertler, a pacifist, painted this during WWI while living in London as a conscientious objector. The fairground ride is transformed from something pleasurable into a metaphor for the relentless military machine that traps both soldiers and civilians.
