Cambridge's Hidden Legendary Space: A Home Beyond an Art Gallery 🏡

Last week, I took a brief trip to the north for a holiday and passed through Cambridge, where I visited Kettle’s Yard, a "home" that surpasses most art galleries in the world. 🌟 The owners of this home are Jim & Helen Ede, two "lifestyle enthusiasts" who love art and music. Jim spent his teenage years in Cambridge, where he developed a strong interest in painting. After a brief stint in the military during World War I, he went on to study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and later joined the Tate Gallery after graduation. 🎨 It was at the Tate Gallery that Jim was exposed to modern art, which was often ridiculed in Britain at the time. These new ideas had a profound impact on him and led him to abandon his painting career in favor of art research. During this period, the couple forged deep friendships with many artists who would later become world-famous, including Ben Nicholson and Henri Moore. 🖼️ At that time, these artists were not favored by collectors, so the couple was able to acquire their works at very low prices. It is said that Ben once sold a painting to the equally struggling couple for the price of the frame and paint, and now his works average around two million pounds. 🎨 This does not mean that the couple were art speculators. They spent their lives collecting and researching art and were dedicated to introducing talented but unknown artists to the world, such as the French artist Gaudier-Brzeska, who died young. During his brief five-year creative period, he produced a series of high-quality paintings and sculptures. Jim happened to acquire most of his works and wrote a detailed book about them. Gaudier-Brzeska's works are now displayed throughout Kettle’s Yard. 🌟 Speaking of Kettle’s Yard itself, in the mid-1950s, the couple returned to Cambridge in search of their ideal home and were drawn to four dilapidated old houses with unique charm. With the help of an architect friend, they renovated the houses and scattered over a thousand pieces of art throughout the space in a very relaxed manner, as if the artworks themselves were the hosts of the home along with the couple. Although the name Kettle’s Yard comes from a short-lived theater, it somewhat echoes the concept of "a world within a kettle." 🏡 During the twenty years the couple lived here, they warmly welcomed students to visit, whether to discuss art or just to enjoy a cup of hot tea. Many artists who studied in Cambridge often reminisce about this cottage, cherishing it as a place of artistic enlightenment. 🍵 The couple later donated the cottage to the University of Cambridge and moved to Edinburgh in the early 1970s, where they both eventually passed away. Although the cottage has undergone expansion and renovation since then, it still retains its original appearance. Before entering for a visit, we still ring the doorbell like the students of decades ago, and as the door slowly opens, we step back into the 1960s. 🕰️ #ArchitectureDesign #ArchitecturalPhotography #UKHiddenTravel #ArtTravel #Sculpture #LondonSurroundings #CambridgeTravelTips