WHEN Vanessa Bell took on the lease of Charleston Farmhouse in September 1916, it was full of Edwardian (and earlier) wall coverings. Together with Duncan Grant, she set to work whitewashing most of the interiors to create a blank canvas, with one of the first projects being the flowers painted around the window of her husband Clive’s study.
What many have remarked upon since was how ahead of their time—decoratively, as much as in other aspects—the friends were in their approach (Masterpiece, July 14). In a bold adieu to the fuss of the Victorian era, they emphasised the functionality of the furniture they painted. It was a time of thrift and uncertainty; it’s said you could hear the guns of the Western Front from Charleston.
The integration of ceramics, textiles, fabrics and decorated wall surfaces was highly unusual because it wasn’t for show. Charleston was a place of refuge and comfort. More than 100 years later, this decorative approach continues to inspire artists. Alistair Burtenshaw, the former director of Charleston Trust, the charity established after the death of Grant in 1978, explained in The Spectator that its charm is the collective whole of the house. ‘Its famous residents made it a place of refuge, ideas, inspiration, rebellion and exploration… It is a house that witnessed radical discussion of the way in which people live their lives.’
Denne historien er fra October 20, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 20, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
