Omega’s room at Daily Mail's Ideal Home Exhibition, 1913: inspired by post-impressionism where everything, including the furniture and ornaments, was cubist.
In 1910, at age 44, Roger Fry seemed to be at a low point in his life and career. His wife had been committed to an asylum where she would remain for the rest of her life. At the same time, he had lost his employment as Curator and European adviser to the Metropolitan Museum of New York. In November of that year, Fry announced the 'Manet and the Post Impressionists' exhibition in Mayfair, introducing the work of Gauguin, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso to London. Here, he met Vanessa Bell, a 30-year-old artist who soon changed his life. In 1911, Fry began an affair with Bell and joined a group of intellectuals in London, later known as the Bloomsbury Group. Bell eventually fell in love with Duncan Grant, and she and Fry remained friends.
Opening room of the Omega Workshops, 33 Fitzroy Square, London © The Charleston Trust
In 1913, Fry formed an artists' cooperative, the Omega Workshops, at 33 Fitzroy Square in Bloomsbury with Bell and her lover Grant. They created an experimental design collective with other avant-garde artists such as Nina Hamnett, Henri Doucet, Wyndham Lewis, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, and Frederick and Jessie Etchells. Products included ceramics, furniture, murals, mosaics, textiles, painted screens, stained glass, and stage sets. Fry insisted that their work remain anonymous, marked only with the symbol Ω, the Greek letter Omega. He felt that value should based on beauty rather than the artist.
Postcard of 'Holland Park Hall' interior designed by Omega Workshops Ltd. © Annabel Cole
The premises in central London included studios for production and public showrooms where customers could browse and shop. Like William Morris and the designers of the Arts and Crafts movement, Fry aimed to unite the fine and decorative arts. However, unlike Morris, he was not concerned with social reform or contemporary manufacturing. Many of the Workshops creations show the overlap between art and design, particularly those for textiles. The bold colours and simplified post-impressionist forms highlight the Cubist and Fauvist influence.
The model nursery at the Omega Workshops, December 1913: Mural decoration by Vanessa Bell, Metchilde fabric by Roger Fry and rug by Frederick Etchells
At Omega, there was no formal recruitment process for the designers. Instead, Fry visited exhibitions and art schools to discover new talent. Artists worked at the studios three and a half days a week and devoted the rest of their time to their own practice. Many patrons were friends, including Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, Ethel Sands and Clive Bell. While Omega received several commissions to decorate private houses, their first major project was for the Daily Mail's Ideal Home show in 1913. There, they showed hand-dyed cushions, printed curtains, upholstery, and murals inspired by dance. The audience considered the Post-Impressionist sitting room radical and greeted it with mixed reviews. Still, its presence at Ideal Home reached beyond the confines of their clique.
Artists at work in the Omega Workshops, 1913–19, Unidentified photographer
At the same time, several internal disputes began forming within Omega. In October 1913, Wyndham Lewis, Frederick Etchells, Edward Wadsworth, and Cuthbert Hamilton announced their resignations. Their letter contained criticisms of Fry, the Workshop's products and ideology, and a disagreement over Omega's contribution to the Ideal Home Exhibition. The split ultimately led to the formation of the rival decorative workshop Rebel Art Centre and the Vorticist movement.
Wall decoration in an Antechamber from the 1914 Omega Workshops catalog.
In the autumn of 1914, Omega Workshops published its first illustrated catalogue. It featured interior decorative schemes and individual items. Omega's products were expensive, and their appeal was exclusive. Customers included Madame Vandervelde, Lady Cunard, and Princess Lichnowsky, the wife of the German Ambassador. In April 1915, Bell began using Omega fabrics in dressmaking. That same year, Fry started to consider book design and publishing. He believed that writers could be their own printers and publishers, who like artists, could design, produce, and sell their own works. With the help of the printing department at Central School of Arts and Crafts, he created four books for Omega.
Nina Hamnett (R) and Winifred Gill (L) modelling Omega dresses at the Workshops © The Charleston Trust
WWI further strained the Omega Workshops. Many artists associated with them were pacifists and conscientious objectors. As the loss of life in the war continued to mount, Omega's flamboyance began to appear frivolous. Commissions diminished, and Bell and Grant eventually retreated to their country house in Charleston. During this time, Fry organized a series of talks, concerts, and theatrical performances to raise funds for war refugees. He reverted to interior decoration for wealthy private clients rather than extending into a broader range of spaces.
Design for Lalla Vandervelde's Flat, 1916, Roger Fry © The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London
Despite his best efforts, Omega Workshops struggled. A combination of expensive materials, inefficient techniques and a lack of orders created challenges. After largely financing Omega with his own money, Fry closed the space in 1918. He sold the remaining products in June of the following year. From the start of its six-year run, Omega Workshops played a significant role in the development of interior design. Though met with resistance, their innovative designs sought to bring continental taste into British homes and supported the careers of some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. The only Omega interior that survives is the mosaic floor and steps Bell designed for Lady Hamilton's entrance hall.
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