CHARLESTON

From 1916 until 1978, Charleston in Sussex was the home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and their unconventional family, which included their daughter Angelica, Duncan’s lover David Garnett, and Vanessa’s two young sons Julian and Quentin from her marriage to Clive Bell.

As key members of the Bloomsbury Group, their house became the epicentre of the movement and was frequented by artists, writers and intellectuals such as Leonard and Virginia Woolf, Roger Fry and EM Forster.

After moving to Charleston in 1916, Vanessa and Duncan set about creating the now-iconic interior. Dated wallpaper was stripped away and the walls were whitewashed in preparation for the frescos, murals and stencilling that would follow. The look they created was an exciting, bohemian alternative to the sleek lines of art deco, the prevailing style of the 1920s and 1930s. Although many decorations, such as Vanessa’s wardrobe and the window embrasures, were completed by Vanessa during that first year in the house, new designs appeared in the years following. The dramatic chevron pattern in the Dining Room was painted by Duncan in 1939 with help from Angelica and Quentin.

Despite the popularity of the look during its day, Charleston is the only remaining example of a complete Bloomsbury interior, and is the perfect expression of the group’s shared aesthetic. *

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The door into Duncan’s Dressing Room was painted by Vanessa, as were the flower paintings on the window embrasure and the circle motifs on the wardrobe