Exhibitions Unpacked: Essence of Nature - Pre-Raphaelites to British Impressionists

Keeper of Art Sarah Richardson introduces the Essence of Nature exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne (27 May - 14 October 2023).

This significant exhibition traces radically different approaches to depicting the natural world, starting with the Pre-Raphaelites’ ideal of ‘truth to nature’, represented by such artists as William Holman Hunt, John Ruskin, William Dyce, John Brett and Anna Blunden.

Rustic Naturalist painters, including George Clausen, Henry La Thangue, Edward Stott, and Isa Jobling, also painted on the spot. However, they turned away from hyper-real detail, aiming to capture the character and atmosphere of rural working landscapes.

Light and colour characterise British Impressionist pictures by artists such as Wynford Dewhurst, Henry Scott Tuke, Ethel Walker and Philip Steer. This group of pictures also includes outstanding British Impressionist compositions by George Clausen and Henry La Thangue. Sketching in front of their subjects, they produced beautiful pictures of sunny hillsides, orchards and gardens, balancing scenes of relaxation with working farmland.

Newlyn artists similarly took their easels to beaches and sunny uplands, and the exhibition includes lovely scenes by Laura Knight, Samuel John Lamorna Birch, and Elizabeth Forbes.

The exhibition features many loans as well as pictures from the Laing’s extensive collection. Admission charges apply. For more information visit https://www.laingartgallery.org.uk