The Radev Collection: Bloomsbury and Beyond

A beautiful collection of works belonging to Mattei Radev, this is one of the first times this collection of works has been seen in public.

In 1950 Mattei Radev entered Britain by stowing away on a cargo ship heading in from Istanbul having escaped Communism in his homeland Bulgaria. Sixty two years later on 11th February, 2012 this collection went on display at The Collection.

Radev grew to be on the fringe of the culturally elite Bloomsbury group of literary and artistic high flyers.  He worked hard to establish himself as one of the foremost picture framers for the London galleries. His steady rise from humble beginnings near Plovdiv, Bulgaria coincided with friendships blossoming with other such socially revered men and it was these friendships with people like highly regarded music critic Eddy Sackville-West (who became the 5th Lord Sackville) and the artist come art dealer Eardley Knollys that lead to this collection of works being formed.

Through various connections, lots of drama and a fair degree of good will, these pieces of work have come together to form one of the most exquisite collections of our time. The exhibition includes work by acclaimed British and international artists such as Keith Vaughan, Duncan Grant, Graham Sutherland, Alfred Wallis, Ivon Hitchens, Maurice Denis, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Jean Metzinger, Jean Millet, Amedeo Modigliani and Lucien Pissarro. We are thrilled to be playing host to such a beautiful collection and hope that you will join us in enjoying this unique example of art, history, society, but most importantly, friendship.