The largest ever survey of the work of Vanessa Bell (1879–1961) opens today, Saturday 19 October 2024, at

Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour surveys Bell’s entire career for the first time and presents a complete picture of the range of her practice through more than 140 works across paintings, drawings, furniture, ceramics, designs for murals, advertising and book covers, some of which have rarely been seen before. A major highlight of the show is the Famous Women Dinner Service, a collection of hand-painted plates featuring portraits of prominent woman from history, created by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.

A pioneer of British abstraction, Vanessa Bell was born in London in 1879 and died in Sussex in 1961. Along with her sister Virginia Woolf, and fellow painter, Duncan Grant, she was a central fgure of the Bloomsbury Group. Her role in creating the conditions in which artistic practice could fourish from the Friday Club to Omega Workshop, has left an indelible mark on the history of British art. MK Gallery’s exhibition has been organised in collaboration with Charleston, in Sussex, the home of Vanessa Bell and her fellow painter, Duncan Grant. It is curated by Anthony Spira, Director, and Fay Blanchard, Head of Exhibitions at MK Gallery.