Diary of acclaimed Scottish artist Duncan Grant discovered 50 years after his death

A diary belonging to the acclaimed Scottish artist Duncan Grant has been discovered almost 50 years after his death.

The painter and designer was born near Aviemore in 1885 and became a central member of the influential Bloomsbury Group of artists and intellectuals.

He started the diary, which has never been seen publicly before, in January 1911 on his twenty sixth birthday. It sold at Gorringe’s auction house for £13,750. 

The first entry reads: ‘Mother gave me this book as a present, also a cushion plus a sponge.’

It contains notes and appointments from throughout the year, including lunch and dinner dates with other well known artists like English writer Virginia Woolf.

Poppy Woodeson, daughter of art historian and biographer John Woodeson who had interviewed Grant during his literary career, discovered the diary among her parents’ belongings after her mother’s recent death.

‘It was a total surprise when I discovered the diary among my parents’ effects. I had no idea that this important and fascinating piece of art history was in their possession,’ she said.

The diary gives an insight into Grant’s daily activities in the year he received one of his most important early commissions to create murals to decorate the dining room of Borough Polytechnic (now London South Bank University). 

Among other interesting entries is Grant’s witnessing of the Coronation procession for King George V and Queen Mary in June 1911.

Also included with the diary is a photograph of the British novelist E.M. Forster, in the garden at Charleston farmhouse in Sussex, which was taken by Vanessa Bell in 1923.

‘This remarkable insight into the daily life of one of the nation’s most intriguing artists is an exciting find, providing fascinating glimpses into the life of Grant, a member of the infamous Bloomsbury Group, whose private lives and relationships were just as famous as their celebrated artworks,’ said John Holmes, managing director at Gorringe’s.

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