A chair with an embroidered floral seat back and a black seat cushion
Chair with floral seatback, Seatback design attributed to Roger Fry (1866–1934) for the Omega Workshops Ltd, embroidered by Winifred Gill (1891–1981) or Vanessa Bell (1879–1961), 1913, Wool, leather and wood, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) © The Courtauld

Chair with Floral Seat Back

Attributed to Roger Fry (1866–1934) for the Omega Workshops Ltd, embroidered by Winifred Gill (1891–1981) or Vanessa Bell (1879–1961), 1913

Omega furniture was manufactured by commercial firms but decorated by its artists. This chair was likely embroidered by Vanessa Bell or Winifred Gill, the Omega’s  young manager.  Embroidery appeared on seatbacks, cushions and fire-screens and was always made by the women artists. The style of the bouquet of flowers recalls that one of the principal sources of inspiration for Omega artists were the Cubist paintings of Picasso and Braque, which they knew well.

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Two men sit across from each other at a table covered with a brown tablecloth, playing cards. Both men wear overcoats and hats, and the man on the left smokes a pipe. They sit inside a wooden building. i Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) The Card Players, around 1892-96, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

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