Portrait of Keynes

In this intimate and sensitive portrait, Grant captures Keynes sat outside working in the garden here at Charleston.

John Maynard Keynes was an economist and a writer. He chaired numerous public projects, and he founded the Arts Council of Great Britain, which still exists today as Arts Council England. His most famous book, ‘The Consequences of Peace’ was published in 1916, at the height of the First World War. He had his own room at Charleston and wrote part of that book right here.

His visits weren’t all about work though. Keynes would often bring his lovers with him on his frequent weekend visits. Keynes and Duncan Grant were lovers for over a year in 1909, before it evolved into a lifelong, platonic friendship. Before Charleston, they had lived together as friends in London, and Grant painted several portraits of him.

‘Vanessa [Bell] and Duncan had really formed a deeper friendship with Maynard than they could with Clive [Bell].’

– Quentin Bell

They remained close friends for the rest of their lives and Keynes even settled an annuity on the artist to make sure that he’d be taken care of financially for the rest of his life. In this intimate and sensitive portrait, Grant captures Keynes sat outside working in the garden here at Charleston. Grant has used a broader, lighter palette than in earlier portraits, and the plants and foliage in the background come together to create a decorative abstract design. Painted at the height of the First World War, Keynes is apparently drafting a crucial telegram here, negotiating an American loan to secure Britain’s wartime survival.

The painting now hangs on the wall in what was Keynes’ bedroom, above the blanket box also decorated by Grant.