An exhibition currently running at Pallant House explores the evolution of British landscape painting through the 20th century, with a particular focus on the wartime and postwar periods. Among the featured works is Eric Ravilious’s 1939 painting of the Cerne Abbas Giant, a well-known hill figure in Dorset. Usually stark white and highly visible, the giant is depicted in earthy brown tones, reflecting wartime measures to camouflage it from enemy aircraft. Barbed wire painted in front of the figure underscores the defensive atmosphere of the era.
The display contextualizes the landscape tradition through works by various artists whose experiences and styles shaped British art during turbulent decades. For example, Sussex agricultural laborer Paul Nash, who vowed never to harm living things, brought an intimate connection to nature in his wartime work. In contrast, Paul Nash’s contemporary Graham Sutherland—a modernist influenced by surrealism—painted landscapes with distorted, sometimes menacing forms, such as gnarled trees and spiky gorse, evoking unease amid natural settings.
Other artists like John Piper and John Craxton are shown embracing neo-romanticism, focusing on luminous ruins and mystical themes, while EQ Nicholson’s works depict elements rendered in acid yellows and unsettling shapes, reflecting the psychological strain of the era. The exhibition traces a shift in the 1950s and 1960s, presenting artists such as Keith Vaughan, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, William Crozier, and John Hubbard, whose paintings display a drained, grayish palette and semi-abstract forms, suggesting a struggle to reconcile postwar realities with traditional pastoral imagery.
Critics have weighed in on this period of British art, with the influential critic David Sylvester in 1960 describing Sutherland’s style as emblematic of a wider "tragic flaw" in English postwar painting: a reluctance to fully commit to a singular vision, instead attempting to merge past and present worlds. This characteristic has been interpreted variously as reflecting either the ambivalence of a society emerging from conflict or the diminished inspiration drawn from the British landscape by its contemporary artists.
The exhibition has also drawn attention for its focus on native-born artists and rural English settings, with some suggesting it lacks representation from painters who engaged more directly with international movements. Complementing the main show, a display of works on paper from the 2025 bequest of Dennis Andrews and Christopher Whelen includes pieces by artists such as David Hockney. Hockney’s 1964 crayon drawing "Luxor," featuring an explosive palm tree emerging from an oriental tower, introduces a more dynamic and exotic dimension to British art, highlighting influences from abroad.
By juxtaposing these varied approaches to landscape, the exhibition invites reflection on the complex intersections between national identity, war, modernism, and artistic expression in mid-20th century Britain. The show runs through November 1.