Charleston
Situated in the heart of the South Downs, Charleston was from 1916 the home of the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Influenced by Post Impressionists such as Picasso and Cezanne, they took painting beyond the canvas, decorating walls, doors, furniture, ceramics and textiles, transforming the house itself into a work of art over the decades they spent here. Within the walled garden they created a summer haven overflowing with flowers and punctuated by sculptures, mosaics and ponds. Charleston was a country retreat for Bloomsbury, the group of artists, writers and intellectuals that included Virginia and Leonard Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E M Forster, Lytton Strachey, Roger Fry and Clive Bell. Today, Charleston contains the only complete example of the domestic decorative art of Bell and Grant anywhere in the world; alongside which hang their own easel paintings as well as works by the artists they knew and admired. The Charleston shop stocks a range of original ceramics, painted furniture, textiles, clothes and books relating to Charleston and to Bloomsbury. The Outer Studio cafe provides light refreshment and the Charleston Gallery shows a changing programme of exhibitions. The annual Charleston Festival is one of the UK’s most successful independent literary events. Every May it presents a series of talks and lectures with an international cast of writers, performers and artists. Charleston runs an exciting programme of events including walks, talks, discussions and workshops that use the collection as a catalyst for a wide range of creative activities to inform and inspire people about Bloomsbury and the arts…
