Diary of Scottish artist discovered nearly 50 years after his death

A diary belonging to acclaimed Scottish artist Duncan Grant has been discovered nearly 50 years after his death in 1978.

The painter and designer, who was born near Aviemore in 1885, was a central member of the influential Bloomsbury Group of artists and intellectuals.

He started the diary on January 21, 1911 – having been given it as a present by his mother.

It begins with an entry that reads “Mother gave me this book as a present, also a cushion plus a sponge”, and contains Grant’s notes and appointments throughout 1911, providing a “remarkable insight” into his life and work.

The diary was discovered by Poppy Woodeson, daughter of art historian and biographer John Woodeson, who interviewed Grant during the course of his literary career.

She found it among her parents’ effects following the recent death of her mother.

“It was a total surprise when I discovered the diary among my parents’ effects,” she said.

“I had no idea that this important and fascinating piece of art history was in their possession.”

The previously unseen diary provides an insight into the artist’s daily activities in the year he received one of his most important early commissions, having been invited to create murals for the dining room of Borough Polytechnic (now London South Bank University).

It contains Grant’s notes and updates on ongoing artworks, such as his 1912 painting titled Dancers, and features a pencil sketch of a standing nude figure.

It also contains details of his lunch and dinner dates with fellow artists and luminaries.

These include artist Vanessa Bell, with whom Grant went on to have an affair, her artist brother Adrian Stephen, and Virginia Woolf, considered one of the most important writers of the Modernist movement.

Other notable entries include Grant’s account of witnessing the Coronation procession of King George V and Queen Mary in London on June 22 1911.

A photograph of the novelist EM Forster, which was taken by Vanessa Bell at Charleston farmhouse in Sussex in 1923, is also contained within the diary.

John Holmes is managing director and paintings expert at Gorringe’s auction house, where the diary will be offered for sale on March 25.

He said: “This remarkable insight into the daily life of one of the nation’s most intriguing artists is an exciting find, providing fascinating glimpses into the life of Grant, a member of the infamous Bloomsbury Group, whose private lives and relationships were just as famous as their celebrated artworks.”

The diary has been given a “conservative” estimate of £500-£800 – but the auction house said that given its significance to the art world it is expected to “far exceed” that.