If I told you that you were off to visit an art gallery, what would you imagine your day to look like? My mind would immediately envision one of the traditional galleries, perhaps the Tate Britain or the National Gallery. I would picture the Grecian portico entrances leading onto the silent corridors filled with the art world’s most revered works. These collections, although vast and brilliant, can often come with a sense of formality that can feel somewhat disconnected. And whilst the intended quietness of these galleries is intended to foster a mindful experience, it can sometimes impose a pressure of assumed adoration and knowledge, creating a barrier to truly connecting with art.
If you’ve ever felt this way, let me introduce you to Kettle’s Yard- a unique blend of art and home living that stands in stark contrast to the grandeur of traditional galleries. Here, art is not just observed but experienced as part of the rhythm of daily life, offering an increasingly artful and intimate way to engage with creativity.
Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge. Photo: Hufton + Crow.
Admittedly, I had not heard of Kettle’s Yard until I planned a trip to Cambridge, where the intrigue of a collector’s home turned gallery drew me to the other side of the River Cam. The gallery is a cottage preserved just as the former owners left it, with artworks covering the walls and sculptures tastefully plopped on coffee tables. This home belonged to former Tate curator Jim Ede and his wife Helen, who curated their home for 15 years from 1958 to 1973 to reflect their love for art and to share it with the public from 10 am to 2 pm daily. This home, preserved in its original state, combined with a contemporary exhibition space is now known as Kettle’s Yard.
The front room of the cottage at Kettle’s Yard.
Photo to show the cottage’s bright, open interior.
Rather than assuming the role of a traditional art collector, Jim Ede saw himself as a friend and advocate for artists. His close relationships with figures like Ben and Winifred Nicholson, who played pivotal roles in connecting him with many of the leading creatives of the twentieth century, demonstrate how deeply personal his approach to collecting was. The vast collection at Kettle's Yard serves not just as an assembly of artworks but as a record of the relationships and mutual admiration shared between Ede and the artists. This sense of community and chosen family is embodied at Kettle’s Yard, where the works of close friends and correspondents such as the Nicholsons, Alfred Wallis, Joan Miró and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska are integrated into the living space, creating an environment where art and life are inseparable.
House extension, upstairs. Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge. Photo: Jaspar Fry.
Yet what struck me the most during my visit was how dramatically a gallery's environment can shape our perception of art. After a lifetime of only consuming art in mass and to the background of plain gallery walls, I found the intimacy and comfort of a lived-in home to be transformative in my capacity to truly feel the artwork. After ringing the doorbell and being welcomed in, we were encouraged to sit down, flick through books and to truly explore the cottage just as Jim and Helen’s guests would have fifty years ago. The Ede’s collection was seamlessly interwoven within their daily life, meaning that art was not simply presented to you, but that you had to look for it. And, whilst this seems a simple quest, in a home where tables are laid with stone circles and fresh flowers and the floors carry instruments, books and granite sculptures, it became easy to question what you could and could not consider to be art.
Adding our names to the guestbook, people had visited from all over the world!
The point is that art can be anything. Jim Ede believed that ‘The role of art is to give food for thought, to act as a stimulant, to entice the onlooker to inspect things, people, emotions from a new point of view.’ Whether it be a certain colour, piece of furniture, an arrangement of items or a more traditional notion of art like a painting or sculpture, Ede tells us that so long as we are intrigued or provoked by a piece of work, then we may consider it art. It was in this untangling of each piece from the roots of the Ede’s home that I was introduced to the brilliance of artful living.
Windowsills decorated with arrangements of plants, glass and light.
Bird Swallowing a Fish, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, c.1913-14 (one of my favourite pieces on display.)
Artful living is the practice of blending artistic appreciation and creative expression into your daily routines, making artistic experiences a part of everyday life rather than something separate or reserved for special occasions. This approach is embodied at Kettle’s Yard, where the space is curated to prioritise thoughtful design over clutter, with plants, stones, and natural light playing a crucial role in the home’s aesthetic composition. I found myself to be entirely moved by this way of viewing my surroundings, in taking a step back and allowing myself to give every object a chance to become something artful, my thoughts on how a gallery should be experienced were challenged. Without the use of labels, I felt encouraged to interpret works in my own way, fully freed from the implications of artistic hierarchy and assumed knowledge. Instead, I was guided by my intuition to piece together my thoughts on the art, from simply asking, "Do I like this or not?" I began to consider questions about the space as a whole, "Why was this placed here?" or "How does this contribute to the harmony of the house?" And yet, if you still find that Ede’s collection isn't to your taste, the peace and contemplation that you experienced to reach such a conclusion demonstrates that choosing to live artfully will always be a step forward.
We have much to learn from Kettle’s Yard about how we view art in our lives. While Jim Ede's career revolved around collecting and arranging art, it is true that we also have the opportunity to curate our own experiences. Whether it’s contemplating the artwork on a birthday card or appreciating the shadows cast by the sun on your walls, this article aims to show that artful living is more than just a decorative concept; it's a way of valuing our surroundings. The next time you visit a gallery or museum, I hope you can carry a bit of Kettle’s Yard with you: see beyond the labels, find your own meanings, and engage deeply with the space around you.
Thank you so much to Gracie Chedzoy, our lovely writer for this week!
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