Andrew Lambirth

This green and pleasant land

Andrew Lambirth on Tate Britain’s exhibition celebrating our landscape art

issue 30 July 2005

Andrew Lambirth on Tate Britain’s exhibition celebrating our landscape art

This summer seems to be developing into a season of British Art — with exhibitions of the quality of Stubbs at the National, Reynolds at the Tate and Sutherland at Dulwich, and now also with A Picture of Britain (until 4 September). This generously mixed landscape show in Tate Britain’s basement galleries is really an adjunct to the TV series of the same title, presented by Mr David Dimbleby, with which many readers will be familiar. I haven’t seen any of it, though I have delved into the sumptuously illustrated hardback book (a snip at £19.99) which accompanies both TV and museum shows. The immediate impression conveyed by the book is that landscape, taken with an admixture of poetry and history, can make painting really quite palatable and interesting…

The British are good at landscape.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in