In the 42nd episode of the series ‘Art Stories’ by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, art historian Beate Söntgen (research project A06) guides viewers through Charleston Farmhouse in southern Sussex, England, which from 1916 onward was inhabited and designed by the Bloomsbury Group around Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Virginia Woolf. The contribution is particularly distinguished by its striking footage, capturing the vividly painted walls, furniture and rooms in their unique atmosphere.

The house thus becomes tangible as a place where art and life are intertwined in a special way. According to Söntgen, it appears as a "manifesto of an artistic attitude that is linked to a specific way of living and working together," something that can be observed there paradigmatically. This mode of living and working aims less at developing an individual style than at "bringing a principle of representation to fruition." Söntgen explains how shared journeys, experiences and relationships are inscribed into the rooms and remain present in painting, furnishings and decoration. In this way, the house itself becomes the expression of a collective process, which she describes as a "hybridization of familial, social, and emotional relationships."

The contribution thus presents Charleston Farmhouse as an early example of the interweaving of artistic practice and way of life, while also opening up connections to current discussions on collective and process-oriented forms of art, as well as to the reception of the Bloomsbury Group.