Vanessa Bell (1879-1961)

The small rectangular goldfish pond is set into the lawn in the walled garden at Charleston. A few years after the date of his picture, painted tiles were inset around the inside edge of the pond. The large Spanish pot, perched on a stone base, is featured in several other garden paintings. It is now in the downstairs studio at Charleston. Although Bell frequently painted the garden in the 1930s, she was drawn to it as a subject even more during the Second World War period when she rarely painted anywhere other than in her immediate vicinity.

R.S.