We invite you to take a seat, get comfortable, pause, look deeply - to immerse yourself in these paintings and step into the landscapes of the Torre Abbey Collection.
This summer exhibition presents a selection of rarely seen works, tracing the evolution of British landscape painting from the ordered, idealised beauty of the Picturesque to the emotional intensity of the Romantic Sublime.
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, British artists transformed landscape painting into one of the nation’s most powerful artistic forms. Hills, rivers, abbey ruins, coastlines, and storm-filled skies became more than scenery — they became ways of exploring beauty, emotion, memory, reflecting changing ideas about the connection between people and landscape.
You are invited to consider:
- What makes a landscape feel beautiful, peaceful, awe-inspiring, or powerful?
- Why were ruins, storms, and wild nature so important to Romantic artists and poets?
- Many Picturesque landscapes leave out signs of hardship, presenting an idealised vision of the countryside shaped by privilege, taste, and imagination. Whose version of rural life do we see in these paintings — and whose stories are missing? Who was working this land while others admired it?
Complementing the exhibition, excerpts from the poetry of William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Barnes and Alfred, Lord Tennyson deepen the exploration of nature as a source of beauty, emotion, memory, and awe.
Traditional agricultural songs, rural women’s diaries, and poems by ‘labouring-class poets’ whose writing reflects the realities of rural life offer a different perspective.
A curated soundscape further enriches the experience, blending field recordings from nature with classical music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Claude Debussy, Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Why do cows appear so often in British landscape paintings?
For many artists, cattle symbolised peaceful rural life, prosperity, farming traditions, and harmony between people and nature. In a modern world finding moments of rest and peace can be difficult but by welcoming moments of calmness, openness, wellness and serenity into our lives we can help alleviate stress and promote a more relaxed mind.
