Iceland Poppies

‘Iceland Poppies’ was painted by Vanessa Bell around 1908 or 1909, and is a rare early work.

‘Iceland Poppies’ was painted by Vanessa Bell around 1908 or 1909, and is a rare early work. The London studio she shared with Duncan Grant, where the majority of her early paintings were stored, was destroyed during the Second World War and few examples of her work survived. The muted colour palette and the realism of the painting show what Bell’s work was like before the influence of Post-Impressionism. Inspired by the works of European avant-garde artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin, Bell’s later works became more abstract and the colours more bold and vibrant. In fact, Bell’s paintings were among the first fully abstract works in Britain.

‘Nessa has a picture in the New English, [and] all her friends are envious.’

– Virginia Stephen (Woolf) in a letter to a friend

This was the first painting that Bell exhibited at the exclusive New English Art Club in London. At the time, it was very unusual for a female painter to be included. When renowned British artist Walter Sickert saw her piece at the Club, he raved about the painting. Until this point, he hadn’t even realised that Bell was a painter. In fact, she was one of the Bloomsbury group’s best painters. Although Walter Sickert may have overlooked her as a woman, Bell wouldn’t have defined herself as a female artist – as ‘other’ to, or lesser than the men. In the Bloomsbury group at least, she was equal to her male counterparts.

‘I didn’t know you were a painter. Continuez!’

– Walter Sickert to Vanessa Bell, 1909

The painting still hangs in the garden room today, above the writing bureau.