Lot 17 , Duncan Grant (1885-1978) and George Bergen (Russian/American (1903–1984), 'Flowers in a jar'

§ Duncan Grant (1885-1978) and George Bergen (Russian/American (1903–1984))
'Flowers in a jar'
the flowers painted by Bergen, the wet drug jar by Grant,
circa 1930,
oil on canvas laid on panel,
80cm x 60cm

Provenance: The Estate of Duncan Grant;
The Collection of Paul Roche (1916-2007);
Private Collection, Surrey

This intimate work dates to a significant moment in Duncan Grant’s life, a relatively short-lived, but emotionally meaningful romantic relationship with George Bergen.
Bergen, a naturalised American citizen born in Minsk, met Grant in late 1929 and their friendship quickly evolved into an intense relationship. George, described as “addicted to all the sexes” was known for his good looks and artistic inclinations, which likely attracted Duncan. For eighteen months or so, as Grant’s biographer Frances Spalding wrote, “Duncan’s emotional life hinged on this man’s existence’’.
The relationship ruffled feathers within the complex interpersonal dynamics among the Bloomsbury members, with Virgina Woolf describing Bergen as “sheep headed, bird witted, and not nice”, but it was Grant’s enduring relationship with Vanessa Bell that was affected the most, as Bergen was an acute source of anxiety to Bell, who feared that Duncan might leave for America with Bergen. As Grant expressed the predicament in a letter to his old friend David ‘Bunny’ Garnett, “‘I know perfectly well that George loves me … But why do I get into a state when he is tired and I am tired and therefore think that he has no feeling for me? And why does Nessa not believe that I love her as much as ever I did? … Why does she not realise that my love for George gives me more power to love her instead of less … The truth is I want them both … Only I know that sometimes Nessa suddenly feels that I give something to George that I don’t give to her.”. Amidst these sexual and emotional crosscurrents, Grant continued to paint—sometimes alongside both Bell and Bergen, as in 1930 when they spent a few weeks together in Cassis.
Several of his George’s paintings hung at Charleston, where he spent time, and it was in the gardens at Charleston where the work offered here was created, as evidenced by Grant’s portrait ‘George Bergen Painting in the Garden’ showing Bergen working on this very piece.
Eventually, the relationship between Grant and Bergen came to end, as George began spending less time with Grant and more time in America, first in California, where he was friendly with stars such as Charlie Chaplin, whom he painted, before settling in New York in 1939. Duncan visited New York in the 1960s with Paul Roche and he rekindled his friendship with George. A few years later, Duncan and Vanessa’s daughter Angelica visited New York and fell in love with George. When she told Duncan how she felt, he wrote back, “Of course I am deeply interested to hear of your feelings for George. I only hope his complete inability to write letters may not make things difficult for you.” suggesting Grant still harboured conflicting feelings toward George over thirty years after their relationship ended. This rekindling of contact led to Duncan sending George a Christmas gift of a watercolour in 1963, the subject a study of flowers in a jar (sold Sworder’s Auctioneers, 4th October 2022, lot 90) a not-so-subtle nod to this work no doubt aimed to remind Bergen of their time together.
This extremely rare collaborative work, created at the height of an intoxicating liaison, endured as poignant memento for Duncan, as it was pinned on the door in his studio for the remainder of his life. The decorative wet drug jar as depicted in this work, remains there today, and was photographed by Gavin Kingcome in the 2018 revision of Quentin Bell and Virginia Nicholson’s ‘Charleston – A Bloomsbury House and Garden’ (pages 77 and 78).

£4,000-6,000