Cressida Bell's life in pictures
Artist, cake decorator and illustrator Cressida Bell is the daughter of critic and artist Quentin Bell, granddaughter of Vanessa Bell and great-niece of Virginia Woolf. She talks us through her and her illustrious family through her favourite images.
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Charleston, former home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and weekend retreat of The Bloomsbury Group before the First World War and beyond.
As soon as Vanessa and Duncan moved into Charleston, they began to paint, not just on canvas, but over every available surface - walls, of course, but also tables, chairs, bed heads and bookcases; all glowed with swirls and spirals of colour and pattern. A modern embodiment of the style can be found in the work of the artist Cressida Bell, Vanessa's granddaughter, who takes private commissions, should you want your own slice of Charleston magic.
Take a look at Cressida's favourite memories
Vanessa Bell's book jackets which I find wonderfully original and evocative. 'On Being Ill' seems to say it all - headache, gloom, pills and pain.
With my mother Olivier Bell in her Sussex garden, from House & Garden July 2010. Olivier had an excellent relationship with her mother-in-law Vanessa and they corresponded frequently - often about my brother, sister and me.
My 'Bloomsbury Bouquet' cake. One of Vanessa's great achievements was the garden at Charleston, which was a work of art in itself. We loved it as children and it is still beautiful today.
A rug designed for the Charleston Trust. My __design is abstracted from the Charleston pond with its bull-rushes surrounded by undergrowth, statuary and pathways. I am told that one similarity between my work and Vanessa's is our mutual fondness for circles - and stripes
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