Art Funded by you

Duncan Grant bust

Stephen Tomlin, 1924

This bronze bust is a portrait of Duncan Grant (1885-1978), one of the most celebrated artists of the Bloomsbury Group.

Grant studied in London and Paris, and achieved early success when his paintings were shown in the Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition in 1912. During the First World War he moved to Charleston farmhouse in Sussex, where he became one of the central players in the famous Bloomsbury Group there.

Grant’s wartime lover, writer David Garnett, commissioned the young sculptor Stephen Tomlin to make this bust in 1924. Tomlin was also romantically involved with Grant and Garnett.

Two bronze casts were made of the piece in 1925: one for Garnett and the other for Grant’s former lover economist John Maynard Keynes. Another of Grant’s lovers, critic Eddy Sackville-West, bought the original plaster bust.

This cast is the version owned by Garnett. It joins the collection at Charleston, the home Grant decorated and shared with artist Vanessa Bell and other members of the Bloomsbury Group.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Duncan Grant bust, 1924

Date supported

2020

Medium and material

Bronze

Dimensions

37.5 x 23

Total cost

18000

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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