Visit to Charleston

A few weeks ago I finally visited Charleston House in East Sussex. I’ve wanted to do this for about 30 yrs - why it’s taken so long I don’t really know. I first discovered Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant when I studied textiles for my degree back in the 1980’s. Many years later my husband bought me the book about the house and I think it’s fair to say it’s had a massive influence on my design style and my working practice. It has always been a source of inspiration for both my interior work and my art.

Taken from Charleston.org website

history

Vanessa Bell and Ducan Grant moved to Charleston in 1916 together with David Garnett and Vanessa’s sons , Julian and Quentin. They were both painters and experimental thinking was at the heart of life at charleston. They accomodated alternative sexual desires and interpretations of domestic life that was different from societal expectations of the time.

The same year, conscription had been introduced so Duncan and David were forced to do farm work to avoid being enlisted. They were Concientous Objectors and shared this view with many of their friends in the Bloomsbury group.

Charleston became a gathering point for artists, writers, art historians, and economists. They came together to imagine society differently in a place where art and experimental thinking were the way of life.

After the war ended everyone resumed their lives in London but the family continued to visit the house. When the second world war broke out they returned to the house, this time Vanessa’s husband Clive Bell joining them.

After Duncan Grants death in 1978, the Charleston Trust charity was set up to restore and maintain Charleston.

(taken from Charleston.org website)

the house

The house and garden were everything I expected and I loved that it felt so homey - not like a museum at all. I’d say all the decoration was so much better in real life - colours and textures all so much more vibrant and experiencing the space as a whole was amazing. It was easy to imagine them living there.

inspired to paint

I came away totally inspired and felt compelled to create a couple of paintings. Working on canvas allowed me to be more expressive and bold with colour and I used a small window in the kitchen and of course the abundance of hollyhocks in the garden as inspiration for two new paintings/collage. Neither are exact representations but I wanted to capture the colour, pattern and feeling of the house. I think both these have a slight nostalgic feel to them.

Charleston Windowsill - acrylic, collage on acrylic

Charleston Hollyhocks acrylic, collage on canvas

the walled garden

The garden was gorgeous and I loved that it had been left to go a bit ‘wild’, though if you looked between all the hollyhocks you could see that the borders originally had been colour coordinated to some extent. It felt like an ‘artists’ garden rather than a ‘designer’ garden.

finally ..

if anyone loves decorative art then I can’t recommend a visit enough. From walls to floors to furniture - everything has been treated with the artists brush. It truly is an immersive experience and they’ve somehow managed to maintain a feeling as if the homeowners have just popped out.