Now open at Charleston in Lewes is an extraordinary showcase of ‘The Radev Collection’, a renowned collection featuring modernist icons including Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani.
‘Collecting Modernism: Pablo Picasso to Winifred Nicholson’ shares the extraordinary story of how this modern art collection came into being, told through over 80 paintings passed on between three queer homes: those of Eddy Sackville-West, Eardley Knollys, and Mattei Radev.
Known as ‘The Radev Collection’, it is one of the biggest and most significant private collections of modern art in the country, offering an intimate perspective on the development of modernism across Europe. It offers a rare chance to get up close with work by some of the most influential artists of the 20th century, including Pablo Picasso, Winifred Nicholson, Amedeo Modigliani, Graham Sutherland, and key Bloomsbury figures such as Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell, and Duncan Grant.
The show also tells the story of the extraordinary lives of the collectors and custodians who grew and cherished this collection over many years. Each work was lived with, loved and passed down in an unusual lineage of love and friendship.
Nathaniel Hepburn, Director of Charleston, says: “We are thrilled to bring such a renowned collection to our new cultural centre, Charleston in Lewes. Generously loaned from The Radev Collection, visitors can see rare works from icons of modernism, including Pablo Picasso and Winifred Nicholson.
The 20th century saw the home become more than just a functional living space, it was a private haven to enjoy creative freedom and be one’s authentic self, as well as a reflection of the inhabitants’ identity and life experiences. Nowhere is this more relevant than at Charleston, and in the homes where what we now know as ‘The Radev Collection’ was begun, expanded and enjoyed.”
‘Collecting Modernism: Pablo Picasso to Winifred Nicholson’ continues until 2 March 2025. For further information: charleston.org.uk
Image: ‘Collecting Modernism: Pablo Picasso to Winifred Nicholson’ photographed by Lee Robbins
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