In the 1910s and 1920s the unique landscape of the chalk downs of southern England began to exert a new fascination on writers, historians, archaeologists and artists. Modernists such as Paul and John Nash, Eric Ravilious and William Nicholson immersed themselves in exploring these enigmatic, ancient places. The stark, rolling forms of the downs suited the modern aesthetic, offering a place where prehistory and modernity could converge.<\/p>\n
With the growing political tensions of the 1930s, this modern engagement with ancient landscape took on a symbolism that still resonates. Images of Britain evolved as the downs became both symbols of wartime vulnerability and resilience and the site of machine gun emplacements and crashed aeroplanes.<\/p>\n
Ancient Landscape, Modern Times<\/em><\/strong> investigates this extraordinary collision of ancient and modern, idea and place, and the network of artists who worked and lived on the chalk. Ninety-nine plates of paintings, watercolours, prints and photographs are accompanied by Essays written by leading art historians James Russell and Chris Stephens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ancient Landscape, Modern Times looks at the engagement of modern painters including Paul and John Nash and Eric Ravilious with the chalk downs landscapes of southern England.
Ancient Landscape, Modern Times James Russell 15
\nFrom Rottingdean to Sutton Veny 69
\nWittenham 77
\nWhiteleaf 83
\nWood engraving 91
\nFurlongs and beyond 99
\nPaul Nash megaliths 111
\nChalk figures 117
\nWar 125
\nReturn to Wittenham 133
\nAfterword Chris Stephens 139
\nArtists’ biographies 164
\nList of illustrations 168
\nNotes 172
\nIndex of works 174<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":82323,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[5568],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-76861","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-art","author-by-author-chris-stephens","author-by-author-james-russell","publisher-pallas-athene","first","instock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n