Omega and After: Bloomsbury and the Decorative Arts

by Isabelle Anscombe, John Lehmann (Foreword), Howard Grey (Photographer)

While the literary output of members of the Bloomsbury Group has been thoroughly scrutinized, another aspect of their activity has been largely overlooked, that is, their designs for the decorative arts. The Omega Workshops, started in London in 1913 by Roger Fry, were a venture without precedent, aiming to produce decorative art from a background - not of crafts - but of painting. They boasted such talents as Vanessa Bell, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Duncan Grant and Wyndham Lewis. The Omega closed in 1919, but Bloomsbury decorative work did not cease. Vanessa Bell remained the central figure; settled into life at Charleston in Sussex, she and Duncan Grant continued to design objects and schemes, and her children later made their own contributions, Quentin as potter and Angelica as painter. Isabelle Anscombe's text, drawing on unpublished sources, catches the flavour of the time and its characters, from bohemians to haut monde. Howard Grey was allowed to print and reproduce early snapshot negatives, and his own photographs, begun before Duncan Grant's death, include unique records of Charleston still inhabited by one of its creators.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1982

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple, easy to read and soak up intro to the Bloomsberries.

I would have liked more on their view of what they were creating and influencing, what was inspiring and influencing them - what was driving them on. This was covered for Roger Fry but not as successfully for Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell - it left them to set up house in a country idyll and do a spot of painting.

The book gives a very sympathetic treatment - not sure I share it > the end of an elite, blessed with the option of opting out of the 'real life' going on around to create their own parallel universe. In particular not sure how 'conscientious' their objection to fighting in first world war was - but that may be harsh, I need to understand them and their situation more.

The value using black and white illustrations is limited where colour is so important to the style.

Inspired to go and visit Charleston and Berwick Church in the summer.

[Elsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because I'd heard about the Omega and Bloomsbury but never understood what they were. This book paints a clear picture of Omega, particularly, concentrating on Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and Roger Fry, who started Omega. There are a lot of people involved in the history of these groups and sometimes it is difficult to keep them all straight. Other wise, this book was very well done with lots of photographs(albeit, black and white).

[Christine Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stunning book, with great photographs by Howard Grey. The overall text by Anscombe was really informative and offered a lot of insight into the lives of The Bells, Duncan Grant and Roger Fry. It flows chronologically and was overall a really useful text.

[Richard B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the Bloomsburys artistic endeavors during and just after the formation of the Omega Group. Nicely written, a relatively easy read for an academic book and some great plates of the artwork itself.