The Vision of Vanessa Bell

Vanessa Bell The Other Room

Vanessa Bell along with her sister Virginia Woolf was a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group. When their father died in 1904 their home in Hyde Park Gate was sold and the sisters along with their brothers Thoby and Adrian moved to Gordon Square in Bloomsbury. Thoby was at Cambridge and began to invited his fellow students to Gordon Square for gatherings on a Thursday evening. It was these social evenings and the friendships created which led to the formation of the Bloomsbury Group. 

Whilst Virginia’s creativity lay in the written word, Nessa turned to visual art to express herself. She became one of the most celebrated of the Bloomsbury artists and exhibited in London and Paris as well as creating covers for some of Virginia’s books. Having married the art critic Clive Bell in 1907 their home in Charleston, Sussex became a canvas on which both Vanessa and others such as Duncan Grants gave full rein to their visual expression. The Charleston Trust was set up in 1980 to preserve and celebrate the Bloomsbury Group artists.