Cornard Wood to Fangorn Forest: British Trees in Art and Literature

Talk by Dr Justine Hopkins who will investigate our deep-rooted fascination with trees, from Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden to the present day. Along the way we encounter Gainsborough’s half-imaginary woodlands, Samuel Palmer’s exultant celebrations of blossom and bough, the meticulously observed trees of the Pre-Raphaelites, Tolkien’s fantastical forests and the living sculpture of David Nash and Andy Goldsworthy.

Image: Michael Ayrton Entrance to a Wood 1945 (Arts Council Collection)