#omega workshop

Winifred Gill

Vanessa Bell (British, 1879-1961) Design for Fireplace Mural oil on paper 76.3 x 55.8 cm. Executed in 1912

Winifred Gill and Nina Hamnett modeling dresses at the Omega Workshops, c. 1913

Vanessa Bell Still Life on Corner of a Mantelpiece 1914

Fry, Roger. Poster, 1918. Lithograph.

Omega Workshops, Design for Peacock Stole. Gouache and pencil on paper

Founded by Roger Fry, Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell in 1913, the Omega Workshops became the first English organization to fully embrace Post-Impressionism. Though short-lived, the Omega Workshops were the English answer to Paul Poiret’s École Martine and the artistic complement to the well-known literary group in Bloomsbury.

The Omega project represents a moment in the history of British art when theorists and artists worked together in the application of modernist principles to craft and design; Omega was established in the summer of 1913. Many avant-garde artists were employed. A range of products was created inspired by European contemporary art, from clothing to rugs, linens to ceramics and furniture.

Fry aimed to remove what he considered to be the false divisions between the decorative and fine arts, and to give his artist friends an additional income opportunity in designing furniture, textiles and other household accessories.

To ensure items were bought only for the quality of the work, and not the reputation of the artist, Fry insisted works be shown anonymously, marked only with the letter omega. The products were in general expensive, and aimed at an exclusive market.

http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/b/bloomsbury

https://pinsndls.com/2013/05/03/mystery-monday-roger-fry-and-the-omega-workshops/

Dora Carrington

Vanessa Bell