Vanessa Bell
(1879-1961), Painter; sister of Virginia WoolfVanessa Bell (née Stephen)
Sitter in 21 portraits
Artist associated with 14 portraits
The eldest daughter of the literary historian and critic, Leslie Stephen, and his wife, Julia. In 1904, following her widowed father's death, she moved to Bloomsbury with her sister Virginia (later Woolf) and brothers, Thoby and Adrian. Their Thursday evening 'At Homes' marked the beginning of the Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers. In 1907 she married the art critic Clive Bell. This, and her association with Roger Fry led her to embrace a more modern style of painting. She exhibited with the New English Art Club in 1909. Bell formed a lasting relationship with Duncan Grant, her co-director of the Omega Workshop between 1913 and 1919. She was a pivotal player in the new artistic styles emerging at the beginning of the twentieth century, particularly in her radical use of abstraction, colour and form.
by Vanessa Bell
oil on panel, 1912
NPG 6684
by Vanessa Bell
oil and gouache on cardboard, 1915
NPG 6046
by Vanessa Bell
oil on canvas, 1940
NPG 4695
probably by Vanessa Bell
enlarged snapshot print on card folder, 1913
NPG x21196
probably by Vanessa Bell
enlarged snapshot print on card folder, 1913
NPG x21198
Lytton Strachey; Duncan Grant; (Arthur) Clive Bell
by Vanessa Bell
enlarged snapshot print on card folder, 1922
NPG x26568
Lytton Strachey; Duncan Grant; (Arthur) Clive Bell
by Vanessa Bell
enlarged snapshot print, 1922
NPG x21199
by Vanessa Bell
bromide snapshot print, 1926
NPG x13073
Angelica Garnett; Clive Bell; Stephen Tomlin; Lytton Strachey
by Vanessa Bell
bromide snapshot print, 1926
NPG x13136
Raymond Mortimer; Angelica Garnett; the dog Henry; Lytton Strachey
by Vanessa Bell
vintage snapshot print, 1928
NPG x13898
probably by Vanessa Bell
enlarged snapshot print on card folder, 1913
NPG x21197
Related People
- (Arthur) Clive Heward Bell (husband)
- Julian Bell (son)
- Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (son)
- Angelica Vanessa Garnett (née Bell) (daughter)
- (Karin) Judith Henderson (née Stephen) (niece)
- Adrian Stephen (brother)
- Sir James Stephen (grandfather)
- Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Bt (uncle)
- Julia Prinsep Stephen (née Jackson, formerly Mrs Duckworth) (mother)
- Sir Leslie Stephen (father)
- Thoby Stephen (brother)
- Ann Davies Synge (née Stephen) (niece)
- Virginia Woolf (née Stephen) (sister)
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