Description:

Vanessa Bell & Her Lover, Pair of Handwritten Letters, She Is The Sister of Virginia Woolf

A pair of letters in reply to Robert Ponsonby's invitation to an upcoming event at Glyndebourne, a large mansion in the English countryside and the site of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera since 1934. 

1.) Autograph Letter Signed, "Vanessa Bell (Mrs Clive Bell)", 1p, on her blind-embossed stationery, 7" x 9", Charleston, Firle, Sussex, May 6, 1951. Stamped "RECEIVED" at top right. Pencil notations in an unknown hand at recto and verso. Two file punch holes at left. Expected mailing folds. Light creasing and minor soiling. Loss at bottom blank margin, not affecting any text. Discoloration at edges. In near fine condition. 

In full: "Thank you very much for your letter inviting me to the garden party at Glyndebourne on June 26th. Unfortunately I have already arranged to go abroad with some friends for some weeks from the middle of June and cannot therefore accept your kind invitation. I hope the party will be a great success and much regret that I cannot come to it."

2.) Autograph Letter Signed, "Duncan Grant", 1p, on bifold stationery, 5.125" x 8", Charleston, Firle, Sussex, May 5, 1951. Stamped "RECEIVED" at lower left. Pencil notations in an unknown hand at recto and verso. Two file punch holes at left. Expected mailing folds. Lightly creased. In fine condition.

In full: "Thank you for your letter asking me to the garden party at Glyndebourne for the English Speaking Union on June 26th. I am very sorry that I cannot accept your kind invitation, but I have arranged a go away to France with some friends during June & shall not be in England on June 26th. I am sorry."

Vanessa Stephen Bell (1879-1961) was an English painter and interior designer and the sister of Virginia Woolf (1882-1941). In 1907, Vanessa married English art critic Clive Bell (1881-1964). They had two sons, Julian and Quentin. The couple had an open marriage, both taking lovers throughout their lives. Vanessa Bell had an affair with British painter Duncan Grant (1885-1978), with whom she had a daughter, Angelica in 1918. Clive Bell raised Angelica as his own child.

The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strachey. This loose collective of friends and relatives was closely associated with the University of Cambridge for the men and King's College London for the women, and they lived, worked or studied together near Bloomsbury, London. Their works deeply influenced literature, aesthetics, criticism, and economics, as well as modern attitudes towards feminism, pacifism, and sexuality. Vanessa Bell is one of the most celebrated painters of the Bloomsbury Group. She exhibited in London and Paris during her lifetime, and has been praised for her innovative works and her contributions to design.

Robert Noel Ponsonby (1926-2019) was an English arts administrator and director of the Edinburgh International Festival from 1956 to 1960. He was Controller of Music at the BBC from 1972 for 13 years, and was artistic director of the Canterbury Festival in 1987-88.

This item comes with a certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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