Stephen Tomlin's bust of David Garnett, known by his friends as Bunny, is normally located in the garden of Charleston House, where Bunny moved to at the height of the First World War with Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell. As an important work on loan in our current exhibition, Bloomsbury Stud: The Art of Stephen Tomlin, we have had the pleasure to restore it with Plowden & Smith and we will have it on display at the gallery until 11th August 2023.
David Garnett was the first member of the Bloomsbury group to meet Tomlin. He was instantly intoxicated by his charm, and later introduced him to the rest of the circle. Carved directly in stone, with pared-down clarity evocative of archaic Polynesian sculpted heads, the sittings took place almost daily throughout the first few months of 1923. The frequency of the sittings was almost certainly accelerated by their amorous affair, and both men talked freely about their homosexuality, which was illegal at the time. They forged a lifelong bond.
