- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Littlehampton Book Services Ltd; First Edition edition (25 Aug 1983)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297781626
- ISBN-13: 978-0297781622
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,092,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
A biography of Vanessa Bell- the artist at the heart of the Bloomsbury Set of ththe early part of this century.She was also a complex woman of great loyalties who managed to remain friendly with husband,ex-lover & lover and keep them friendly with each other.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Frances Spalding read art history at the University of Nottingham and lectured on the subject for ten years before becoming a freelance art historian and biographer. She is currently editor of the Charleston Magazine.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Frances Spalding has done an excellent job on Vanessa Bell, a very important woman artist and far more than just the wife of Clive Bell as suggested in the Amazon description of the book. Spalding is also very honest about the aspects of the Bloomsbury set that make one boil with rage.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Vanessa Bell was a talented artist and a key figure in the development of modernist painting and, like her sister, Virginia Woolf, she played a central part in the formation and continuance of the Bloomsbury Group. In this excellent biography, Frances Spalding has revealed just how important and considerable Vanessa Bell's role was within that group, for although she was neither a writer nor an intellectual, she provided the integrity and stability that was needed in this set of talented writers, artists and thinkers.
Vanessa Bell was born Vanessa Stephen in 1879, eldest daughter of Leslie Stephen, editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and his second wife, Julia Duckworth. She was one of the four children Leslie and Julia had together, with two younger brothers and a sister, Virginia, who later became the writer and diarist, Virginia Woolf. Vanessa's early life was the privileged, but very restricted life of a child brought up in late Victorian England, however after the death of her parents, Vanessa moved to Bloomsbury with her brothers and sister and threw off the constraints of her upbringing. As the wife of Clive Bell she gave birth to two sons: Julian and Quentin; as the close friend (and the one-time lover) of Roger Fry, she was involved with bringing the first, radical Post-Impressionist Art Exhibition to London in 1910; as the lover of the painter Duncan Grant, she had one daughter: Angelica (some achievement in itself as Grant was a confirmed homosexual). As an artist, Vanessa Bell played an important part within the history of English art for the first thirty years of the twentieth century and she played a less significant, but none the less distinguished role as a colourist for the rest of her life. Alongside of her easel paintings, Vanessa also designed and created interiors and one of her most lasting achievements was Charleston Farmhouse, her very colourful and beautiful family home in East Sussex which she created for her children, her family and very close friends - but most significantly as a haven for her one time lover and long time companion, Duncan Grant - whose presence, if not his sexual fidelity, was essential to Vanessa's well-being.
Vanessa Bell's life was unconventional and unorthodox; it was a life through which ran love, friendship and laughter, alongside grief, loss and sorrow. With this exceptionally good and well researched biography, Frances Spalding has brought Vanessa Bell's story to life. I read it first in the 1980s in the original hardback edition and have re-read it so many times that I now have the paperback copy as a back up.
N.B. Frances Spalding has also written an excellent biography on Duncan Grant: Duncan Grant: A Biography which is an interesting and useful companion to this one. Also recommended: Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracyby Jane Dunn and Virginia Woolf by Hermoine Lee
Vanessa Bell was born Vanessa Stephen in 1879, eldest daughter of Leslie Stephen, editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and his second wife, Julia Duckworth. She was one of the four children Leslie and Julia had together, with two younger brothers and a sister, Virginia, who later became the writer and diarist, Virginia Woolf. Vanessa's early life was the privileged, but very restricted life of a child brought up in late Victorian England, however after the death of her parents, Vanessa moved to Bloomsbury with her brothers and sister and threw off the constraints of her upbringing. As the wife of Clive Bell she gave birth to two sons: Julian and Quentin; as the close friend (and the one-time lover) of Roger Fry, she was involved with bringing the first, radical Post-Impressionist Art Exhibition to London in 1910; as the lover of the painter Duncan Grant, she had one daughter: Angelica (some achievement in itself as Grant was a confirmed homosexual). As an artist, Vanessa Bell played an important part within the history of English art for the first thirty years of the twentieth century and she played a less significant, but none the less distinguished role as a colourist for the rest of her life. Alongside of her easel paintings, Vanessa also designed and created interiors and one of her most lasting achievements was Charleston Farmhouse, her very colourful and beautiful family home in East Sussex which she created for her children, her family and very close friends - but most significantly as a haven for her one time lover and long time companion, Duncan Grant - whose presence, if not his sexual fidelity, was essential to Vanessa's well-being.
Vanessa Bell's life was unconventional and unorthodox; it was a life through which ran love, friendship and laughter, alongside grief, loss and sorrow. With this exceptionally good and well researched biography, Frances Spalding has brought Vanessa Bell's story to life. I read it first in the 1980s in the original hardback edition and have re-read it so many times that I now have the paperback copy as a back up.
N.B. Frances Spalding has also written an excellent biography on Duncan Grant: Duncan Grant: A Biography which is an interesting and useful companion to this one. Also recommended: Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracyby Jane Dunn and Virginia Woolf by Hermoine Lee
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Nice clean book - great price. Fast delivery
30 Dec 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Sometimes it is impossible to find these older books - Amazon and its sellers are great for finding them. Thank you!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Beautifully written and reasoned biography
18 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback
I love this book and re-read it from time to time. Frances Spalding maintains a very balanced view of Vanessa Bell, avoiding the twin biographic pitfalls of becoming either too fond of or losing respect for her subject. Warmly detailed and psychologically sound, she judges the available information sources shrewdly and brings Vanessa Bell, her circle, and her home (Charleston) beautifully to life. The book shines with honesty, understanding, and knowledge.
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