This November, the vibrant world of the Bloomsbury Group returns to life in a new exhibition at Sotheby’s in London, curated by none other than Kim Jones, the acclaimed artistic director of Fendi and Dior Homme. Known for his passion for the unconventional and his deep admiration for the Bloomsbury circle, Jones brings his personal collection and keen eye to Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston, a show that runs from November 9–26 and coincides with Sotheby’s biannual Modern British & Irish Art auction on November 14.
The Bloomsbury Group, a coterie of artists, writers, and intellectuals who challenged the rigidity of Victorian society with their modernist ideas and unorthodox lifestyles, continue to cast a long shadow over contemporary culture. Their members included painter Vanessa Bell, writer Virginia Woolf, economist John Maynard Keynes, and artist Duncan Grant, all of whom congregated in Bloomsbury, London, and later at Charleston Farmhouse in East Sussex. Their creative experimentations in art, literature, and design rippled through generations, leaving an indelible mark on modernism.
For Jones, a longtime collector and recently appointed vice president of Charleston, this project is personal. “The Bloomsbury group were a reaction against Victorian Britain, and I love the way they shook things up—changing the way people dress and think,” he said. “I love living with these amazing pieces in my home, but I think it’s important to give other people the opportunity to come face to face with them, so they can experience that same moment I have, when something from so long ago speaks to something within you.”
One of the exhibition’s highlights is Vanessa Bell’s rediscovered painting The Party (1920), which offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the social world of the Bloomsbury circle. The painting, which has remained in private hands since Bell gifted it to her sister Virginia Woolf, is now on the market. In 1983, it was renamed Mrs Dalloway’s Party, a nod to Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway, which follows the protagonist as she prepares for an evening soiree. Speculation swirls around whether Bell’s painting, with its 1920s garb and lively atmosphere, may have influenced Woolf’s portrayal of upper-class London society. As Sotheby’s specialist Bryn Sayles muses, “the party is such a famous scene in the novel, and the painting, which is now up for sale, shows people in 1920s garb who may well be people the sisters knew.”
The exhibition also features rare pieces that speak to the wide-ranging influence of the Bloomsbury Group. A hand-printed silk robe designed by Percy Wyndham Lewis, a key figure in the Vorticist movement, reveals how the group’s creative networks extended far beyond traditional art. Lewis, better known for his role in avant-garde painting and literature, dabbled briefly in fashion design while working at Roger Fry’s Omega Workshops, where the boundary between art and everyday life blurred seamlessly. The exhibition also includes a loan from Charleston—a log box decorated by Duncan Grant shortly after moving into the farmhouse, its whimsical winged musicians and dancers echoing the group’s desire to bring beauty into even the most mundane objects.
The Bloomsbury Group may have flourished a century ago, but its influence continues to inspire. Under the careful curation of Kim Jones, Radical Modernity invites viewers to reconnect with a moment in time when art, intellect, and rebellion intertwined, and to consider how the ideals of this bohemian collective still resonate today.
