A View of One's Own

A View of One’s Own:
Landscapes by British Women Artists, 1760-1860 
at The Courtauld 
until 20 May 
Monday 27 April at 6:00pm 

The Courtauld never ceases to amaze me. As well as having a wonderful permanent collection, it continues to mount excellent, focused exhibitions. So far this year we have seen the display of works on loan from Birmingham's Barber Institute, and the scintillating Seurat and the Sea. Now it is time to consider one of the regularly-changing displays in their drawings gallery, which invites us, in their own words, to, ‘Discover a new side to the Golden Age of British Landscape Art’. And they’re not wrong: if you have enjoyed seeing, or hearing about, Turner & Constable at Tate Britain, this exhibition brings to the fore the great women who were either precursors, or contemporaries, of these two masters – and often, their work shows striking similarities. 

The exhibition has been very successful, with The Guardian calling it ‘Revelatory and vital’. It includes the work of ten women, some of whom were among the first to depict the Lake District, or to travel to France after the Napoleonic Wars, and at least one whose drawings – which were later engraved and published – were only rediscover a few years ago. Varying from subtle and intricate to bold and powerful all ten were fantastic artists, and more than worthwhile getting to know: I do hope you can join me!
 
Please remember, I do not record my talks.