Bloomsbury Group

The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set or just "Bloomsbury", as its adherents ("members" is probably too formal a designation) would generally refer to it, was an English group of artists and scholars that existed from around 1905 until around World War II.

History

The group began as an informal social assembly of recent Cambridge University graduates (four members had graduated in 1899, among them Thoby Stephen, Virginia Woolf's and Vanessa Bell's brother) mingling at social events of the Apostles secret society. After graduation, the founding members of the group pursued different interests (Keynes took a job with the Treasury Department administering British interests in a part of India). Vanessa laid the foundation of Bloomsbury in 1904 by moving the Stephen family (the four children of Julia and Leslie Stephen -- Vanessa, Thoby, Virginia and Adrian) to Gordon Square, in the Bloomsbury area of London. Thoby Stephen's untimely death in 1906 strengthened the resolve of Vanessa and Virginia to remain independent and interact with the rest of the group.

Related Topics:
Cambridge University - 1899 - Thoby Stephen - Virginia Woolf - Vanessa Bell - Leslie Stephen - Gordon Square - Bloomsbury - London - 1906

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The group gained notoriety in 1910 when many of its members were involved in the Dreadnought Hoax that embarassed the British Navy and was deemed unpatriotic. The group's outspoken pacifist beliefs caused further criticism during the war.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also in 1910 Roger Fry organized an exhibition of Post-Impressionist art in London that became a defining milestone for the movement. The exhibition gave British public a first glimpse on the innovations that were happening in art on the Continent and was very badly received by the critics.

Related Topics:
1910 - Roger Fry - Post-Impressionist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After World War I the group became a looser association as the circle of friends grew and became less united in opinions and beliefs. The 2 post-war efforts that involved many members of the group were the Omega Workshops in 1913 (Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, and Maynard Keynes) and the Hogarth Press in 1917 (Virginia and Leonard Woolf).

Related Topics:
Omega Workshops - Hogarth Press

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~