A Wider Landscape
Curated by Polly Townsend
Sept 13 - Nov 13 2022
Opening hours: Tue and Wed 12-5pm
Please book in advance by calling
0207 613 0755 or admin@alpine-club.org.uk
This exhibition offers a female perspective on mountain painting, with works from The Alpine Club collection & contemporary artists.
Women artists and mountains have a long history, but their work is rarely exhibited. Historically, female artists were largely limited to painting indoor scenes. It was felt that the lifestyle of a landscape painter was unsuitable for women. But that did not stop many who climbed, sketched & painted, just as skilfully as their male counterparts.
Attitudes to female alpinists and painters have since changed, but even for modern day artists, painting alone in the mountains is not without complications and danger. Each voice in this exhibition tells a story, but there is also an interplay between the works, particularly the historic and contemporary.
The artists approach their practice in different ways. Some work traditionally ‘en plein air’, others draw from memory or imagination. Some observe the conventions of representational painting and others more interpretative. Prints, aquatints, woodcuts and sketchbooks are also exhibited. This show explores the multiple ways artist see, think and fantasise about mountains.
The exhibition is curated by Polly Townsend. From the Alpine Club collection are works by Marie von Bulow, Una Cameron, Molly Dicker, Clara Durgnat, Hilde Hechle, Margaret Pilkington and Philippa Anna Frederica Stephenson. The contemporary artists are Zoe Benbow, Serena Curmi, Janet Johnson, Jenny Pockley, Lisa Rigg, Emma Stibbon and Polly Townsend.
Curator's tour video available here