Published to accompany the exhibition Dora Carrington: Beyond Bloomsbury, Pallant House Gallery, 9 November 2024 – 27 April 2025. The artist Dora Carrington (1893-1932) was a true bohemian. Sir John Rothenstein once described her as 'the most neglected serious painter of her time', but Carrington - who cut her hair short and chose to be known by her surname - was a significant contributor to Modern British art during the interwar years and a vital associate of the Bloomsbury Group. For the first time in thirty years, Ariane Bankes and Anne Chisholm will take Dora Carrington’s works, letters, and drawings and shed light on a remarkable artist who defied social norms with her radical, bohemian way of life. 

This book looks at Carrington’s involvement with the Bloomsbury Group, her work for the Omega Workshops, as well as her relationships with artists and writers, including one of the founding members of the Bloomsbury Group, Lytton Strachey. Although devoted to Strachey until her death, their unconventional relationship allowed Carrington to explore her sexuality and defiance of gender norms, which became a defining element of her artwork. Carrington’s paintings guide this narrative throughout the book as paintings and drawings of her family, friends, and lovers at the time show glimpses into her extraordinary life, which has been overlooked for so many years.