Duncan Grant diary in East Sussex sale

The diary of acclaimed Scottish artist Duncan Grant (1885-1978) has been discovered almost 50 years after his death. The diary which has never been seen publicly before, begins on 21st January 1911 on the artist’s 26th birthday, with an entry that reads: “Mother gave me this book as a present, also a cushion plus a sponge …”

The diary contains notes and appointments throughout the year of 1911, with lunch and dinner dates with his well-known artistic contemporaries noted. These include the famed artist Vanessa Bell (1879-1961), who he would go on to have an affair with, alongside other key artists such as Adrian Stephen (1883-1948), the brother of Vanessa Bell and the English writer Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), considered one of the most important Modernist writers of the 20th century. The portrait and war artist Henry Lamb (1883-1960) and the founder of the Bloomsbury group of artists and passionate art advocate, John Maynard Keynes (1883‒1946) are all detailed, offering a fascinating insight into the British art world at the time.

The diary offers a never-before-seen intimate peak into the mind of one of Britain’s most important artistic minds, as it also reveals updates on Grant’s ongoing artworks, such as his 1912 painting titled Dancers (which sold at auction in 2023 for £216,300). A pencil sketch by Grant of a standing nude is also featured.

Included with the diary is a photograph of the British novelist E.M. Forster (author of A passage to India and A Room with a View), in the garden at Charleston farmhouse in Sussex, which was taken by Vanessa Bell in 1923 (another print of which is recorded in her own photograph albums). It is inscribed on the back: ‘Morgan Forster Charleston Garden 1923’. 

Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex was the home and artistic hub of the Bloomsbury Group, which was an influential circle of writers, artists and intellectuals in early 20th-century Britain. The group embraced experimentation, intellectual freedom and artistic innovation, all of which comes through in Grant’s diary. It was named after the London district of Bloomsbury, where many of its members lived.

The diary also shows the daily activities of the famed artist in the year he received one of his most important early commissions, which was an invitation by the renowned painter and art critic Roger Fry (1866-1934), to create murals to decorate the dining room of Borough Polytechnic (now London South Bank University). Among other interesting entries is Grant’s witnessing of the Coronation procession for King George V and Queen Mary in June 1911.

Commenting on the exciting discovery, John Holmes, Managing Director and paintings expert at auction house Gorringe’s, said: “This remarkable insight into the daily life of one of the nation’s most intriguing artists is an exciting find, providing fascinating glimpses into the life of Grant, a member of the infamous Bloomsbury Group, whose private lives and relationships were just as famous as their celebrated artworks.”

The diary was found by the daughter of Art Historian and biographer John Woodeson, who interviewed Grant during the course of his literary career.  On the recent death of her mother, it was found amongst her parents’ effects. Commenting on the discovery Poppy Woodeson said: “It was a total surprise when I discovered the diary among my parents’ effects, I had no idea that this important and fascinating piece of art history was in their possession.” 

The diary will be offered in Gorringe’s Interiors and Decorative Arts auction on March 25, 2025, and has been given a conservative estimate of £500-800 however given its significance to the art world it is expected to far exceed that.