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Duncan Grant

Male 1885 - 1978  (93 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and one descendant in this family tree.

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  • Name Duncan Grant 
    Birth 21 Jan 1885  Rothiemurchus, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 9 May 1978 
    Person ID I499385  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 9 Mar 2010 

    Father John Peter Grant,   b. 29 Feb 1860   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Mother Elizabeth Mary Brewster   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Marriage 27 Sep 1882 
    Family ID F298267  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 George Bergen   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F203263  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 28 Mar 2010 

    Family 2 Lytton Strachey,   b. Mar 1880   d. 21 Jan 1932, Ham, Wiltshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 51 years) 
    Family ID F298799  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 28 Mar 2010 

    Family 3 Baron John Maynard Keynes,   b. 5 Jun 1883   d. 21 Apr 1946 (Age 62 years) 
    Family ID F311871  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 27 Apr 2017 

    Family 4 Vanessa Stephen,   b. 28 May 1879   d. April 7, 1961), 
    Children 
     1. Angelica Bell,   b. 1918   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F203251  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 9 Mar 2010 

    Family ID F203262  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 9 Mar 2010 

  • Photos Photos (Log in)Photos (Log in)

  • Notes 
    • studied art at the Slade School and in Italy and Paris . He was a cousin (and for some time a lover) of Lytton Strachey
      Through the Stracheys Duncan was introduced to the Bloomsbury Group, where Maynard Keynes became one of his lovers.
      Though essentially homosexual , he became the lover of Vanessa Bell and lived with her and her two sons by her husband Clive Bell from before the start of the First World War . In 1916 they moved to the house named Charleston near Firle in Sussex . Duncan and Vanessa painted in Charleston and decorated the house itself with their paintings, and Clive stayed with them for long periods fairly often -- sometimes accompanied by his own mistress, Mary Hutchinson.
      Although it is generally assumed that Duncan's sexual relations with Vanessa ended in the months before their daughter Angelica was born (Christmas, 1918 ), they continued to live together until Vanessa's death in 1961, with Duncan staying on at Charleston until shortly before his own death in 1978.
      Living with Vanessa was apparently no impediment to Duncan's relationships with men, either before or after Angelica was born. (Angelica grew up believing that Clive Bell was her father; she bore his surname and his behaviour toward her never indicated otherwise). Duncan and Vanessa had an open relationship , although she herself apparently never took advantage of this after settling down with him and giving birth to their daughter. He was the great love of her life and she understood that if she was to keep him at Charleston with her she would have to allow him this freedom. The pain this decision cost her is related in Angelica's memoir, Deceived With Kindness. Duncan, in contrast, had many purely physical affairs and several serious relationships with other men such as George Bergen.
      Grant worked with, and was influenced by, another member of the group, Roger Fry , who was also a former lover of Vanessa's. As well as painting landscapes and portraits , Fry designed textiles and ceramics.
      In Grant's later years, the poet Paul Roche , whom he had known since 1946, went to considerable effort in looking after him. Grant eventually died in Roche's home in 1978.
      Duncan Grant is buried beside Vanessa Bell in the churchyard of St. Peter's Church, West Firle, East Sussex.



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