Feast on Art at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

The collection of artworks that are found throughout Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons aren’t just a collection of canvases. Instead, they encapsulate hand-made objects within the rooms and towering sculptures that await guests at every turn in the garden. “I connect with art because it's about beauty. It aggrandizes a space, it makes the guests talk and I want it to surprise and delight them when they stay” explains Raymond Blanc OBE, founder and chef patron of Le Manoir. Celebrating its 40th anniversary of both opening and maintaining two Michelin stars last year, Raymond reflects on the foundations of his dream, saying: “the vision was to create something extraordinary. I wanted it to be full of joy, full of laughter, where food and friendships are the very heart of things.”

It’s this vision that shaped his personal curation of the art and objects that fill the manor house, which make the space feel as warm and intimate as it is. Art is everywhere here, even in the Michelin-starred kitchen, where a bronze bust of Raymond made by Lloyd LeBlanc sits high on a shelf to oversee everything that leaves the pass. In the same way that storytelling is at the heart of each dish served, the collection of artworks across the hotel represents relationships with individual artists, moments in the hotel’s forty-year history and opportunities to add an extra layer of meaning to every guest experience.

There are things that Raymond made an effort to adorn in areas that few guests would ever see, such as the mural on the ceiling of the flower hut that sits on the edge of the croquet lawn. It’s made Sarah Goodsell, Le Manoir’s head florist for over thirty years, smile as she worked. “I wanted to give her a sky to see and bring a bit of love into the space where she created so much beauty. We asked Ian Harper to paint a fresco on the ceiling that encapsulated florals, butterflies and symbols of romance like cherubs. Art has the ability to bring pure joy sometimes.”

“The lady who made the sewing kits in each room and the red and green bows that have been on the doors of each room for forty years was an Irish friend of mine called Doris Boyle,” explains Raymond. “She was at least 90 years old when she made them, and was an amazing craftswoman. I asked her to create them because I wanted something unique and beautiful that made the rooms feel more like a home and not a hotel. The sewing boxes are practical as well as breathtaking; each one is a different design and they open up like flowers.”

When guests drive into Le Manoir, a three-and-a-half metre sculpture of artichokes – cast from bronze by Lloyd LeBlanc at his foundry in Saxby – is what they’ll first see. “My story with Lloyd LeBlanc started before I’d even met him, because I'd been such a fan of his work. On each piece for Le Manoir, from the flock of birds in flight in the pond or the vases in the garden bursting with fruit, we always work together from the start of the idea as it comes together, first with clay to the finished piece made in bronze. We tweak things together, making something a bit bigger here or a bit smaller there – I originally wanted the artichokes to be ten metres tall.”

The rooms at Le Manoir are inspired by Raymond’s travels, and this piece is no different. “35 years ago, I was wandering the streets of Shanghai when I suddenly heard the sound of a violin. I walked towards the music and saw a little girl not much bigger than the violin she was playing. I started to cry as it was the most beautiful music I’d ever heard and I invited her to come and perform at Le Manoir,” he shares. “Vanessa-Mae performed at Le Manoir when she was 13 years old after I found a 60-piece orchestra to accompany her, and for three nights she played outside in our garden. These plates were commissioned as a memento of those concerts and are the first thing guests see when they sit down to dine at Le Manoir each night.”

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