Photos/C at, Bristol Museum & A rt Gallery; Tray & Lampstands/Victoria and Albert; Plates, Courtauld.
critic s su ch as C h risto p h e r R e e d h ave w r itte n e lo q u e n tly
ab ou t h o w issu es o f g e n d e r and d o m e s tic ity h a ve p re v e n te d
B lo o m sb u ry fro m re c e iv in g its d u e re co g n itio n in o rth o d o x
h isto rie s . W h a t is b e y o n d d o u b t is th a t O m e g a re d e fin e d
19 th -ce n tu ry d efin ition s o f a rt, c ra ft and d esign and o ffe re d
a n e w m od el fo r a rtists’ co llab o ratio n w ith in d u stry.
T h e fo u n d er and d riv in g fo rc e b eh in d O m e g a w a s R o g e r
F ry . M o d e ra te ly s u cce ssfu l as a pain ter b u t in tern a tio n ally
k n o w n as a sch olar o f R e n aissan ce p ain tin g, a co n tem p o ra ry
art critic and co -ed ito r o f
The Burlington M agazine,
F r y w as
c u ra to r o f p a in tin g at th e M e tro p o lita n M u seu m o f A r t in
N e w Y o r k b e tw e e n 1905 and 1910 and w a s o ffe re d th e d ire c -
torsh ip o f th e N ational G a lle ry in L o n d o n , w h ich he d eclin ed .
H o w e v e r, in 1910 his establish m en t credentials w e re sev erely
te sted a fte r h e cu rated “ M a n e t and th e P o st Im p ression ists,” 4
w h ic h ca u se d p u b lic o u tra g e at th e tim e b u t is n o w c re d ite d
as sh ap in g th e m o d ern m o v e m e n t in B rita in . F r y n o t o n ly
in tro d u c e d th e p a in tin g s o f V an G o g h , G a u g u in , C e z a n n e ,
M a tisse and P ic a sso to th e B ritish p u b lic bu t also su p plied
a n e w c ritic a l lan g u a g e b y w h ic h to a p p re c ia te th em . H is
P o st-Im p re ssio n ist th e o ry re je c te d tra d itio n a l n a tu ra listic
rep resen tation in fa v o r o f a n e w p icto rial approach th at used
e x p re ssiv e d esign and h e ig h te n e d sen sib ilitie s to en gen d er
fee lin g and em otion. Im p ortan tly, F r y ’s ideas w e re applicable
to all a rt, and he w r o te ab o u t E n g lish v e rn a c u la r p o tte r y ,
A fr ic a n scu lp tu re and Islam ic d esign . T e llin g ly , he exh ib ited
a series o f F a u ve d e c o ra te d p o ts b y D e ra in , V la m in c k and
M a tisse to illu stra te th e fo rm al p o ssib ilitie s o f th is n e w a p -
p ro a ch , sta tin g in a p u b lic le c tu r e , “ I w o u ld in stan ce as a
p r o o f o f th e d ire ctio n in w h ic h th e p o st im p ressio n ists are
w o rk in g , th e ex cellen ce o f th eir p u re design as sh o w n in the
p o tte ry in th e p rese n t e x h ib itio n .” 5
In 1910, F r y had also tak en part in a “ vig o ro u s” discu ssion
at th e S o c ie ty o f A r ts c o n c e rn in g th e re latio n sh ip b e tw e e n
th e fine and a p p lied a rts , and in re sp o n se w r o te , “A m o n g
profession al artists th ere is .
.. a va g u e idea th at a m an can still
rem ain a gentlem an i f he paints bad p ictu res, bu t m ust fo rfe it
th e c o n v e n tio n a l rig h t to his E sq u ire i f he m akes g o o d p o ts
o r se rv ic e a b le fu r n itu r e .” 6 S y m p a th e tic to th e v a lu e s o f
M o rris th ro u g h h is frie n d sh ip as a y o u n g m an w ith th e d e -
signer C . R . A s h b e e , F r y first th o u gh t
o f fo u n d in g O m e g a in 1912, a fte r he
cu ra te d a se co n d P o st-Im p re ssio n ist
ex h ib itio n w ith co n trib u tio n s fro m a
like-m in d ed grou p o f E n glish artists he
had cu ltiva te d o v e r th e p rev io u s th ree
y e a rs. F r y ’s aim w a s fo r O m e g a to b e
“ a w o rk s h o p fo r d e co ra tiv e and applied
a rt” b u t w ith o u t the social and political
agen d a o f th e A r ts and C ra fts m o v e -
m en t—“ I am n o t a S o c ia lis t, h e sta te d
em p h atically.” 7
E n e rg iz e d b y h is d is c o v e ry o f m o d -
ern F re n ch p a in tin g , p rim itiv e a rt,
early C h in e se sto n e w are and m ore, F ry
aim ed to in filtrate P o st-Im p ression ist
id eas o f d e sig n in to th e c o n s e rv a tiv e >
4. Desmond
MacCarthy,“The
Art-Quake of 1910,”
The Listener,
London,
February 1,1945,
pp. 123-129.
5. Roger Fry, “Post-
Impressionism,”
The
F o rtn ig h tly R eview ,
Vol.
l x x x i x ,
January
1911,p.859.
6. Fry, “A Modern
Jeweller,”
The
B u rlin g to n M agazine,
No. LXXXVII, Vol.
XVII, June 1910, p. 169.
7. Fry, “Art and
Socialism” (1912),
V isio n & D esign,
Oxford University
Press,1981,p.39.
Left: Painted wood
lampstands show
Omega members’
delight in decorating
purchased household
objects with vivid colors
Below: Plates with
sailboat designs, 1913,
attributed to painter
Duncan Grant, are com-
mercial plates painted
over the glaze.
aug/sep09 american craft 04c
