Vanessa Bell

The Artist's Estate
The Bloomsbury Workshop, London

Charleston, The Charleston Gallery, Just Friends and Lovers? A Bloomsbury Portrait Exhibition, 2003;
Bedford, Cecil Higgins Museum and Art Gallery, The Bloomsbury Effect, 2006.

The canvas undulates slightly but is in good overall condition. There are areas of craquelure in all four quadrants of the paint surface. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals small lines of retouching to scattered areas of craquelure and a spots of retouching to a few small spots of paint loss in the upper and lower right quadrants. Held in a gilded composition decorative frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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Painted circa 1922 and inscribed by Duncan Grant VB/Angus Davidson on the reverse.

Angus Davidson featured greatly in Duncan Grant's affections from 1922 and although the relationship faded, Davidson was to remain one of Grant's most loyal and lasting friends. Davidson worked for a short while in the early 1920s with Leonard and Virginia Woolf at The Hogarth Press, his kindness and intelligence charming his employers but his inertia irritating Leonard. In later life Angus Davidson became a noted translator from the Italian, notably of Alberto Moravia and Mario Praz, and wrote a pioneering biography of Edward Lear, concentrating on Lear's artistic output.

Grant painted and drew Angus Davidson on a number of occasions, sometimes nude. The present work, however, is believed to be the only significant painting of the sitter by Vanessa Bell.