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Lot Essay
When the present work was exhibited in 1973 it was thought to depict a view of a house rented by the Stephen children in Playden near Rye. It was then thought it was one of a number of houses rented by the Stephens in Cornwall, although not Talland House, St Ives, which the Stephen children knew from early days.
The Stephen family’s continuing attachment to Cornwall in the years following the death in 1904 of their father Sir Leslie Stephen, led to many visits, often in the spring or autumn. For this painting, obviously the three Stephen children (Vanessa, Virginia and Adrian – the fourth, Toby, had died in 1906) had to be staying in the same place. All three were in St Ives in April and November of 1908 and in March 1909. From extant correspondence we have their various addresses but none suits the house Bell here depicts.
The legs of the very tall Adrian are seen stretched out, with his sister, in a light blue dress, reading beside him. Although by no means recognisable as such, this image of Virginia is the first of several in Bell’s oeuvre. The painting was swiftly carried out showing a synoptic view of the back of the house from its garden. Bell is already deploying some inventive colour such as the red guttering below the mauve roof of the house. This is one of only a few paintings by Bell from before 1910 to have survived. It may well have been given to Adrian as it does not appear in Bell’s 1951 inventory of her paintings at Charleston.
We are very grateful to Richard Shone for preparing this catalogue entry.
The Stephen family’s continuing attachment to Cornwall in the years following the death in 1904 of their father Sir Leslie Stephen, led to many visits, often in the spring or autumn. For this painting, obviously the three Stephen children (Vanessa, Virginia and Adrian – the fourth, Toby, had died in 1906) had to be staying in the same place. All three were in St Ives in April and November of 1908 and in March 1909. From extant correspondence we have their various addresses but none suits the house Bell here depicts.
The legs of the very tall Adrian are seen stretched out, with his sister, in a light blue dress, reading beside him. Although by no means recognisable as such, this image of Virginia is the first of several in Bell’s oeuvre. The painting was swiftly carried out showing a synoptic view of the back of the house from its garden. Bell is already deploying some inventive colour such as the red guttering below the mauve roof of the house. This is one of only a few paintings by Bell from before 1910 to have survived. It may well have been given to Adrian as it does not appear in Bell’s 1951 inventory of her paintings at Charleston.
We are very grateful to Richard Shone for preparing this catalogue entry.