Better known by his friends as ‘Bunny’, he was part of the original household here at Charleston. He moved here in 1916, at the height of the First World War alongside the artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, and her two sons – Julian and Quentin. Grant and Bell were lovers, as were Grant and Garnett. Living all together there was no secrecy or deception about this. Although at times there may have been slight jealousies, they were all friends.

Garnett became central to the Bloomsbury group once more when, in 1942, he married Grant and Bell’s daughter, Angelica. They deeply disapproved of the marriage but neither of them told Angelica the truth – that David and her father had been lovers in the past. Angelica and David Garnett had four daughters together before separating in 1967. The grandchildren were regular visitors to Charleston, and were always welcome in the studio and encouraged to sit for Bell and Grant’s paintings.