Painters in their places: Charleston and the Bloomsbury Group

The second instalment of three linked online sessions exploring in detail distinct artists/artistic schools which drew for inspiration on gardens, garden design and planting, but impacted in different ways on textiles, fashion and culture more broadly. Focusing mainly on the English experience but including in the first session a pairing of English and Spanish (Sargent and Sorolla) with further reference to French impressionists in England. The aim of the classes is to explore the ways in which gardens and design integrate into other aspects of culture and arts by focusing on specific examples.

Famously described as ‘Living in Squares and Loving in Triangles’ the Bloomsbury Group also lived (and loved) in gardens of all shapes and sizes. In this session we will concentrate on the overlap between the creation of gardens and the creation of art, textiles and interior design at Charleston, Sussex, but will also look at other Bloomsbury gardens and their link to literature. This is the second in a series of three mornings examining different artists and their relationship with gardens and other aspects of design.

Dr Twigs Way is a garden historian, writer and researcher. She is fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture of all kinds. Her talks and books reflect that endless curiosity, with themes of symbolism and meaning, class and gender, art and literature, and her desire to follow unknown paths towards the unexpected. From gnomes in Neasden to hollyhocks from the Holy Land, every plant has a tale to tell, every garden a past. Twigs is the Director of MA/PhD in Garden History at the University of Buckingham, as well as a consultant and lecturer in Historic Designed Gardens and Landscapes.