At the heart of the Group were the artists: Vanessa Bell (initially they met at her Bloomsbury home), Duncan Grant and Roger Fry. These three were joined by their literary and intellectual companions: Lytton Strachey, Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes and Clive Bell, as well as numerous others. Members were bound by political ideals, aesthetic tastes and personal affection. Together they were at the forefront of British Avant Garde until the outbreak of World War II.

 

The art of Bell, Grant and Fry cannot be separated from their astonishing lives nor their entangled relationships within the circle. During the Special Interest Day, Frank Woodgate will look at and consider their work as well as their interlaced affairs. In addition, he will review the significance of the Group to the visual arts scene in Britain with emphasis on the so-called ‘Art Quake in 1910’ - an exhibition at the Grafton Galleries, ‘Manet and the Post-Impressionists’ mounted by Clive Bell.

​

PROFILE

Frank Woodgate is a lecturer and guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern and Chichester’s Pallant Gallery where he also runs courses. As well as being an accredited Art Society lecturer, he gives talks for the Art Fund and National Trust and has lectured throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  Frank’s interests and topics are wide-ranging from British 16th century art through to German Degenerates and American Realism culminating in 21st Century Self-portraits with a whole host of other intriguing subjects in between. He continues to add to his varied talks on a regular basis.