Left: Roger Fry, the
collective’s founder and
guiding spirit, at work
in the Omega Work-
shops, ca.1913.
e c o n o m ist T h o r s te in V c b le n d ism isse d Joh n R u s k in and
W illia m M o rr is ’s h a n d icra ft m o vem en t as on e o f “ co n sp icu -
ous co n su m p tio n ,” a criticism ech o e d at h om e b y th e fou n d er
and e d ito r o f
The Studio
m a g a zin e, C h arles H o lm e , fo r p ro -
d u cin g “ u n orn am en tal ‘o rn a m en ts’ w ith w h ic h th o u gh tless
p eop le cro w d th eir livin g ro o m s.” 1 P ain tin g fared little b ette r,
w ith y o u n g artists rejectin g th e anecd otal n atu re o f the “ u n re-
alistic su b ject m eretricio u sly p ain ted ” 2
b y R o y a l A c a d e m icia n s in fa v o r o f n e w
d ev elo p m e n ts in P a ris. B y 1910, ev en
th e y o u th fu l N e w E n g lish A r t C lu b ,
form ed in th e 1880s as an altern ative to
th e R o y a l A c a d e m y h ad fa d e d , w ith
its m em bers p ro d u cin g a w a tered -d o w n
v e rsio n o f Im p ression ism .
A n e w ex h ib itio n , “ B e y o n d B lo o m s-
b u ry: D esig n s o f th e O m eg a W o rk -
shops 1 9 1 3 -1 9 ,” at th e G a lle ry o f th e
C o u rta u ld In stitu te o f A r t in L o n d o n
exam in es h o w a c o lle c tiv e o f y o u n g
artists u n d e r th e d ire c tio n o f R o g e r
1. Charles Holme, “The
Potter’s Art-Object
Lessons from the Far
East,”
The Studio,
vol.
24, no. 103 (1901), p. 48.
2.
Charles Harrison,
E n g lish A r t a n d
M o de rn ism ipo o-193p,
Yale University Press
(reprint 1994), p. 19.
3. Rod Mengham, “A
World of Their Own,”
Tate M a ga zin e,
winter
1999, P-
29
On response
to the exhibition “The
Art of Bloomsbury,”
Tate Britain).
F r y a ttem p ted to tran slate n e w P o st-Im p re ssio n ist ideas
fro m F ra n ce th ro u g h a n e w d e c o ra tiv e ap p roach to a staid
and insular E n glish art w o rld . T h e C o u rtau ld is an au gu st art
h isto rical in stitu tio n , and it is sig n ifican t th at its first e x h ib i-
tion o f ap p lied art sh ou ld fo cu s on th e O m e g a W o rk sh o p s,
an alliance th at has arou sed m ore an tagon ism fro m a rt h isto -
rians than alm o st an y o th e r m o d ern g ro u p in E n g lish art.
A rg u m e n ts o v er th e origin s and tru e id en tity o f B ritish m od -
ern ism , a p reju d ice against c ra ft p ra ctice, claim s o f am ateur-
ism and e v e n th e E n g lish o b se ssio n w ith class—“ a c u ltu re
o f in tro sp ectio n , illu strated b y an art o f p o ssessio n s” 3- h a v e
m a rg in a lize d O m e g a ’s cre a tiv e ach ie vem e n ts.
O m e g a has also su ffe re d fro m c lo se a sso cia tio n w ith th e
B lo o m sb u ry G ro u p , a lo o se c o lle c tiv e o f in te lle ctu a ls w h o
liv e d in th e area arou n d th e B ritish M u se u m in ce n tra l L o n -
don d u rin g th e 1910s and 20s. T h e grou p inclu d ed th e artists
D u n can G ran t and V an essa B e ll, w rite rs V irg in ia W o o lf and
E . M . F orster, critics R o g e r F r y and C liv e B ell and th e e c o n o -
m ist Joh n M a y n a rd K e y n e s am ong o th ers, w h o se u p p er class
liv e s , b o h em ian life s ty le and lib e ra l se x u a l a ttitu d e s h ave
a ttra c te d p ru rie n t in te re st. O v e r th e la st d e c a d e , h o w e v e r,
048 american craft aug/sep09
