Pallant House Gallery – The Bell Bookshop

British Landscapes

Emma — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

British Landscapes: A Sense of Place explores how artists responded to the landscape of England, Scotland, Wales during the 20th century. Drawn from the remarkable Modern British art collection of Pallant House Gallery, alongside exceptional works on long-term loan from private collections, it features much loved artists including Barbara Hepworth, Clare Leighton, Paul Nash, Ben Nicholson, Eric Ravilious, Graham Sutherland and Keith Vaughan.

British Landscapes covers a wide range of genres, showcasing a history of 20th century art in Britain: British Post-Impressionism by Spencer Gore and Walter Sickert; a focus on the 1920s printmaking revival of etching and wood-engraving with FL Griggs and Robin Tanner; 1930s travel posters and watercolours by David Jones and Eric Ravilious; an exploration of Surrealism through Paul Nash, John Tunnard and Julian Trevelyan; and wartime landscapes by John Piper, Sutherland and Keith Vaughan. The final section considers the development of abstraction in British art via the St Ives artists and their contemporaries, such as Ivon Hitchens.

It explores the concept of placemaking, and how artists have conveyed the spirit or sense of a particular place in their artworks. It not only includes pastoral idylls but also urban, suburban and industrial landscapes. A leitmotif running throughout is the relationship of people to the land: from images of rural labour and farming to the development of leisure tourism. It also considers how the British landscape has been central to the formation of regional and national identities, and how tangentially it can convey the anxieties of socio-political events, such as the First and Second World Wars.

This fully illustrated catalogue is published to accompany the exhibition of the same title at Pallant House Gallery.

William Nicholson

Emma — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A fully illustrated publication to accompany the first major presentation of William Nicholson (1872- 1949) in over two decades, spanning the entire career of an extraordinarily versatile and popular artist. Defying categorisation, Nicholson sat both at the heart of the art world and apart from artistic movements of his day. In this book, his spectacular output is considered afresh, from his acclaimed prints and book illustrations to his sensitive portraits of individuals of all ages and from all groups in British society. In unrivalled still lifes to expansive landscapes, Nicholson’s pictures are not simply representations of the visible world or scenes ripe with hidden symbolism; his are paintings of dazzling brushwork and exquisite colours that speak of his delight in the observation of his subjects. Exploring the premise that Nicholson’s work is more complex than previous interpretations have suggested, this publication will position Nicholson’s output as a product of the artist’s times, as revealed by his portrayals of key figures of the British Empire and his close relationship with London’s theatre world.

Distributed for Pallant House Gallery

Seeing Each Other

Emma — Fri, 16 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Considering mutual emulation, rivalries, and homages to artists of the past, this publication includes insightful new essays from leading art historians and curators alongside conversations with contemporary artists to review 125 years of British portraiture and explore the intersection between friendships, inspiration and selfhood.

Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists showcases portraiture by major British artists including Michael Andrews, Patrick Caulfield, Lucian Freud, Maggi Hambling, Nina Hamnett, Barbara Hepworth, Lubaina Himid, David Hockney, Chantal Joffe, Augustus John, Mary McCartney, Ishbel Myerscough, Ben Nicholson, Winifred Nicholson, Celia Paul, Walter Sickert, Christopher Wood and many more.

Distributed for Pallant House Gallery

Dora Carrington

Emma — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The artists Dora Carrington (1893-1932) was a true bohemian. Sir John Rothenstein once described her as ‘the most neglected serious painter of her time’, but Carrington – who cut her hair short and chose to be known by her surname – was a significant contributor to Modern British art during the interwar years and a vital associate of the Bloomsbury Group.

Bringing her artworks together, this book summons up Carrington’s whole way of life: loving, creative, domestic and intimate. She was an artist who remained true to her own vision and to the people and places that nourished her.

Distributed for Pallant House Gallery

Exhibition Schedule:

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
(9 November 2024-27 April 2025)

Sussex Landscape

Emma — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A beautifully illustrated look at how the Sussex landscape has inspired creativity across the centuries, reassessing the rich artistic lives and work of British artists and writers connected with the area

Sussex is a county defined by its iconic chalk-cliff coastline and the rolling expanse of the South Downs to the North. This enduring landscape has inspired artists and writers across the centuries, most notably in the twentieth century when Sussex was home to leading artists and writers of the day. While some artists found solace and reflection in the landscape, for others it provided the vital space to explore different ways of living and artistic innovation. Following in the footsteps of these artists, this book tells a fascinating story of an area that continues to inspire.

Sussex Landscape features work by leading writers and artists including J. M. W. Turner, William Nicholson, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Ivon Hitchens, Eric Ravilious, and Edward Burra alongside new work by contemporary artists and poems by Hilaire Belloc and Rudyard Kipling. Celebrating Sussex’s unique scenery, this book explores the county’s longstanding appeal as a place of exploration and inspiration.

Distributed for Pallant House Gallery

Exhibition Schedule:

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
(November 12, 2022-April 23, 2023)

Hockney to Himid

Emma — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A celebration of the extraordinary upsurge of printmaking in Britain from the 1960s to now

Emerging from the post-war period, printmaking underwent a marked elevation in status and transition from specialist medium to one widely adopted by some of the foremost names in contemporary art. This book charts how Britain emerged from the post-war years and thrived in the early 1960s, navigated the social changes of the 1970s and 1980s, and saw the ascendency of contemporary British art from the 1990s to the present day. From wood engravings and etchings to lithographs and screenprints, the versatility of the printmaking medium has enabled artists to expand their practice to explore new possibilities. The works featured in the book are all drawn from Pallant House Gallery’s extensive collection of over 2,500 prints. More than 100 artists are represented, including Edward Bawden, Enid Marx, Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton, Barbara Hepworth, Lubaina Himid, David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Paula Rego, Grayson Perry, Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili, and many more.

Drawn to Nature

Emma — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The natural world as seen through the eyes of British artists including Eric Ravilious, Clare Leighton, and John Piper

Since its publication in 1789, Gilbert White’s Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne has inspired generations of artists, writers and naturalists. From Thomas Bewick to Eric Ravilious and Clare Leighton, many artists’ depictions of animals, birds and wildlife have illustrated White’s celebrated book, together providing a microcosm of natural history illustration from the eighteenth century until today. In Drawn to Nature, Simon Martin has gathered joyful and beautiful images of the extraordinary array of wildlife described by White, providing an insight into the continuing appeal and relevance of the Natural History.

This fascinating account takes us from some of the earliest published depictions of birds and animals, to pioneering nature photography, the revival of wood-engraving in the 1920s and 30s, and responses to White’s message about the natural world by contemporary illustrators such as Angie Lewin and Emily Sutton. The book also includes an introduction to the life of Gilbert White by Sir David Attenborough, an essay by Virginia Woolf, poems by modern and contemporary poets, and a jacket design by Mark Hearld.