Duncan Grant study to go under the hammer at Cheffins

A preparatory painting by Duncan Grant for his iconic mural at Berwick Church in the Sussex Downs is to go under the hammer at Cheffins in Cambridge on 23^rd October. Signed and titled ‘Chattie’s Hand’, the painting would have formed part of a series of paintings for the planning of the mural which was one of the largest and most significant commissions undertaken by the Bloomsbury Group.

Completed in the main by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, with assistance from Vanessa Bell’s son, Quentin, the mural was commissioned in 1941 by Bishop Bell of Chichester, who was concerned with bringing art back into the Church of England. In addition, the bishop was looking to support artists struggling against the backdrop of World War Two and believed that the Church could once again become a patron of the arts. The church is Saxon in origin and is a rare example of a church painted by modern-day artists. Bishop Bell appears in the Christ in Glory mural on the bottom right of the Chancel Arch.

A working study for the mural, the painting on offer at Cheffins shows the hand of the pair’s close friend, Chattie Salaman, who had served as a model for numerous Bloomsbury Group works, as well as appearing several times throughout the Berwick Church murals, most notably as the Virgin Mary. It is believed that this sketch relates to the angelic figure in Grant’s vast and imposing ‘Christ in Glory’ mural, which is situated in the Chancel Arch, while the model for Christ himself is thought to be either author Leonard Woolf or artist Edward le Bas, who also features in The Crucifixion and who reportedly was tied to an easel by Grant as part of his preparatory studies for the painting.

Brett Tryner, Director at Cheffins comments: “Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant transformed Berwick Church in much the same way as they decorated Charleston Farmhouse - vivid, exuberant and unmistakably Bloomsbury. Their murals are now regarded as some of the most iconic works of the Group, encapsulating both their radical artistic vision and their unconventional personal lives. Grant, despite lacking religious conviction, was captivated by Italian fresco traditions and relished the opportunity to create his own ‘Sistine Chapel’. For Bell, the project came during a time of deep personal turmoil, following the tragic suicide of her sister, Virginia Woolf. It is perhaps for this reason that her murals feel weighted with foreboding, in contrast to Grant’s works, which radiate colour and light. In the minds of the artists, the sense is that the murals were not necessarily religious works in the traditional sense, but meditations on the ability of art to uplift and unify through their peculiarly English brand of eccentricity while transforming the church into one huge work of art.”

Duncan Grant at Charleston, picture courtesy of The Charleston Trust

Vanessa Bell completed two murals, The Annunciation and The Nativity. The artists worked using plasterboard panels in a local barn, using friends, farmworkers and villagers as models. Throughout the murals is the use of current-day subjects and it is believed that the backdrop to The Annunciation depicts the garden at Charleston, which at the time had been cultivated as part of the war effort. Almost the entire church was painted by Bell and Grant, including the pulpit with floral designs and fruits and arches and pillars are decorated in stripes, typical of the decoration employed by the Bloomsbury Group at Charleston.

Brett Tryner continues: “Berwick Church represents one of the Bloomsbury Group’s greatest artistic legacies. Preparatory works for the project seldom appear on the open market, making this painting an exceptional opportunity to acquire a piece of modern British art history.”

It has an estimate of £1,000 - £1,500 and is being sold by a private collector based in Somerset.

Also available from the Bloomsbury Group at the Art & Design Sale on 23rd October is a landscape by artist, writer and tastemaker, Roger Fry. Signed and titled 'Provencal Landscape', it is set to sell for £4,000 - £6,000.

 To view the catalogue for the Art & Design Sale, please click here