2 OF 16

Vanessa Bell (née Stephen)

2 of 16 portraits of Vanessa Bell (née Stephen)

by Duncan Grant
oil on canvas, circa 1918
37 in. x 23 7/8 in. (940 mm x 606 mm)
Purchased, 1963
Primary Collection
NPG 4331

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Sitterback to top

Vanessa Bell (née Stephen) (1879-1961), Painter; sister of Virginia Woolf. Sitter in 16 portraits, Artist associated with 14 portraits.

Artistback to top

Duncan Grant (1885-1978), Artist. Artist of 9 portraits, Sitter associated with 28 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Bell began to work with Grant, a younger painter, whose work she admired, from around 1913 and they subsequently fell in love. Its use of rich, vibrant colour and pattern demonstrates Grant's adoption of a Post-Impressionist style. At the time the portrait was painted, Bell was also experimenting with bold colour and simplified form in her own painting.

Linked publicationsback to top

Gibson, Robin; Clerk, Honor, 20th Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery Collection, 1993, p. 13
Ribeiro, Aileen, The Gallery of Fashion, 2000, p. 207
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 48
Spalding, Frances, Insights: The Bloomsbury Group, 2005, p. 40