So Very Bloomsbury!

Photo of Study at Charlotte Street Hotel,
courtesy Charlotte Street Hotel

On my recent trip to London, I stayed in the Bloomsbury district. My hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel, featured interior design inspired by The Bloomsbury Group, who lived and met in the area, and took their name from it. Staying there, I definitely started to get the Bloomsbury vibe! 

A loose confederation formed in the early 20th century, The Bloomsbury Group (or "Bloomsberries", as they sometimes called themselves) included artists, poets, writers, economists, and intellectuals of various stripes. Radicals and Bohemians all, they mounted a full-fledged rebellion against all the conventions of the Victorian era--political, religious, sexual, philosophic and artistic. 

Painting by Vanseea Bell, in Library at Charlotte Street Hotel

"Basket of Flowers"

Vanessa Bell

Scratch the surface, and you will find a thousand connections among the Bloomsberries, and some familiar names as well. One prominent member, Vanessa Bell, was the sister of the
writer Virginia Woolf. (One of Bell's paintings hangs above the fireplace in the hotel library (shown above)). The economist John Maynard Keynes was a Bloomsberry. The list goes on. But what I have been really interested in is the ART.

Roger Fry painting in Library at Charlotte Street Hotel

Perhaps the most influential Bloomsbury member in the art world was Roger Fry. Fry was a painter and art critic. It was Fry who coined the phrase "Post-Impressionist", and brought the work of Cezanne, Manet, Matisse and Van Gogh to the attention of the English public. As you might imagine, the response at the time was not exactly positive. People called him crazy. But post-impressionism was ultimately embraced, and Fry's original exhibition of these works in 1910 is now regarded as a watershed moment for arts and culture.

Detail from Bloomsbury inspired mural at Charlotte Street Hotel

I was delighted to see that an original Roger Fry painting hangs in the library at Charlotte Street Hotel. And it looks right at home! Above the sofa in the lounge are other originals from the Bloomsbury Group and their contemporaries. Placed in this decor, surrounded by boldly patterned fabrics (fearlessly mixed, just like the Bloomsberries did!), these paintings look as fresh as if painted yesterday.

If you are in London, do stop in Charlotte Street Hotel for a taste of Bloomsbury. In addition to the original works by Bloomsbury artists, the mural in the Oscar restaurant (detail above) is a great homage to The Bloomsbury Group. You can also find a good collection of the Bloomsberries' work at the Tate Britain Museum, and resources on their decorative furnishings at the Victoria & Albert. Make a day of it!