Collection: Nature in Art

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Back in 1982 Nature in Art Trust (then called The Society of Wildlife Art of the Nations) was founded as a registered charity, by Dr David Trapnell (1928 – 2023). Its first president was Sir Peter Scott, renowned not just for his paintings, but also for establishing the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and co-founding the World Wide Fund for Nature. Nature in Art Trust was set up with the specific purpose of establishing and then managing a museum of art inspired by nature and thereby plugging a gap in the UK’s publically accessible collections.

  Man is a painter and always has been. As early as 25,000 BC the subjects of his first paintings were animals. If it was man’s capacity for rational and abstract thought that helped someone decide to call him Homo sapiens (wise man), he might equally aptly have been called Homo pictor (man the painter). Long before language was reduced to writing, people drew pictures on the walls of the caves which were their homes.

  From the tomb paintings of Egypt of around 2000 BC until the Middle Ages, man’s chief topic for his art was man, often depicted in his relationship to God and sometimes accompanied by domesticated or hunted animals and birds. With a few notable exceptions in China from about the ninth century AD onwards, it was not until the seventeenth century that artists turned again to give a significant proportion of their talents to making living, wild creatures the chief subject of their paintings, as distinct from decorative details in other pictures.

  It is surely a remarkable fact that, while nature was the first subject for man’s artistic attention, it was largely overlooked for thousands of years and has only in the last four centuries again become an important stimulus to his creative endeavour. Perhaps then it is a surprise that, as far as we know, it was not until the opening of Nature in Art in 1988 that the broad heritage of art inspired by nature has been exclusively collected, displayed and celebrated.

  While national art collections in many countries have been notable for the breadth and variety of their subject matter and the magnificent quality of the work they exhibit, they have largely neglected works of art depicting nature. Boosted by the growth all around the world of a sense of public and individual responsibility for conservation of the environment and our heritage in nature, and for inter-cultural dialogue, there is a new awareness of the value of fine examples of works of art from around the world which depict living things. Nature in Art responds to these trends.

  Dr David Trapnell’s vision was partly inspired by visits to the USA where his wife, artist Elizabeth Gray, was exhibiting her artwork, also inspired by nature. Links were made with collections in this field including the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wisconsin where work by Elizabeth Gray is held in the permanent collection.

  At the time of its establishment the Trust had no collection or building and extremely limited funds. An Inaugural Exhibition was held in Guildhall in the City of London in 1985 which featured original works by some of the world’s foremost nature inspired artists, lent specifically for the exhibition. Opened by HRH Princess Alexandra it proved an effective springboard for moving the project forward.

  By 1988, a small collection of 120 works had been assembled (some donated from the Inaugural exhibition). The trustees were able to raise sufficient monies to purchase outright and then convert a fine Georgian mansion. As a result the museum ‘Nature in Art’ opened free of debt on May 28th 1988. Still today, without any guaranteed ongoing public or private funding, the museum has remained debt-free.

  Shortly after opening, a book, ‘Nature in Art’, was produced. Written by Dr David Trapnell and published by David and Charles, it featured many paintings and prints from the collection. The collection now stands at around 1300 items and is unique in its diversity and scope. The collection deliberately embraces a wide range of styles and media. Such diversity is important, not simply in collecting terms, but also to expand the visitor experience beyond their expectations.

  Over the years, the Trust has gratefully benefited from support from the likes of The Art Fund and the V&A Art Purchase Fund to acquire items, such as the most important painting in the collection, an oil on panel, “Noah and the Animals Entering the Ark”, attributed to Jan van Kessel (1660/1680), acquired in 1994. (This painting was loaned to a world-touring exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum). Other examples include a Malcolm Sutcliffe glass charger (1993), a Margaret Mee watercolour (1993), a Worcester quail pattern tea bowl and saucer (1995), a Jun Takegoshi (Japan) vase (1996), an Italian pietre dure table (1996), a Pilkington Lustreware vase (1997), an Anne Jones quilt (2001), a Japanese Cloisonne Koro (2002), a Jean Jules Dunand lacquer panel (2002), glass work by Jenny and Brian Blanthorn (2003), a Royal Doulton Lambeth Studio vase (2004), a Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe watercolour on paper ‘Green Gold and Dun’ (2006), Michael Porter’s’ oil and acrylic on canvas, ‘The Road to Issel’, (2007). a William de Morgan ceramic charger (2015) and a pencil drawing by Jospeh Wolf (2022).

  To complement the collection, a comprehensive programme of temporary exhibitions is held, often built around items from the collection, or on themes or artists already addressed by the collection. Some ready-curated exhibitions are also included from time to time, borrowed from other institutions.

  In 1989 the Museum was accepted for government indemnity which, for example, enabled the Trust to borrow five important paintings by Wilhelm Kunhert, Carl Rungius and Bruno Liljefors from the Rijksmuseum, Twenthe, Holland from 1990 – 2002.

  The focus of the collection remains unchanged. The Trust currently only collects items that it will display. It has not disposed of any items and has no plans to do so.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  As far as we know, it was not until the opening of Nature in Art in 1988 that the international heritage of art inspired by nature has been exclusively collected, displayed and celebrated by a museum anywhere. Probably boosted by the growth of a sense of public and individual responsibility for the conservation of our heritage in nature and the environment, and for inter-cultural dialogue, there is now also an awareness of the true artistic merit of fine examples of nature-inspired art that have been neglected in public art collections for too long.

  Quality in variety has been the consistent guiding principle of collecting by the Trust. The collection consists of top-quality examples of their kind of fine, decorative and applied art inspired by nature, in all media and styles. The following list demonstrates that some variety has already been achieved, shown by the different media and styles represented in the permanent collection, –

  • Fine art – from the 17th to the 21st century, from abstract to ‘representational’ in many styles and media from many historical and cultural/national origins.
  • Sculpture (many media & origins, 5th to 21st century)
  • Decorative and Applied art –
    • Aboriginal art
    • Arts nouveaux ceramics, fabrics, glass, tiles
    • Art deco – lacquered panel, tiles, woodblock prints
    • Batique
    • Carpets and kilims
    • Ceramics (particularly from local factories such as Bristol and Worcester) and stoneware, including items from Africa, Middle East (10th century), Japan, China
    • Cloisonné (Chinese and Japanese)
    • Designer book bindings
    • Fans (18th & 19th centuries)
    • Furniture – embroidered, inlaid and in forms inspired by nature
    • Glass, particularly c1760 and 19th century onwards and items made locally (including a strong collection of 20th century British studio glass)
    • Inlaid stone (jewellery, Italian casket, furniture, panels etc.)
    • Inuit art (stone, bone etc.)
    • Iron castings (Coalbrookdale etc.)
    • Ivories – mostly Chinese and Japanese (19th century)
    • Islamic art
    • Jewellery – particularly inlaid and other stones (19th, 20th centuries)
    • Lacquer work (Wolverhampton, European and Oriental)
    • Marquetry (objects and furniture)
    • Mosaics (5th – 20th centuries)
    • Natural ‘sculpture’ (‘Art in Nature’)
    • Needlework, quilt & tapestry (17th to 20th century; several countries)
    • Objects of virtue (mostly 19th century)
    • Prints of many types 17th to 21st century
    • Silver
    • Tiles c1830-1930s
    • Tribal art – prints, wood carvings

  Of the permanent collection, about 45% are decorative & applied arts and 40% pictures, but, including loans, paintings (in various media) and prints form nearly 50%.

  While some items in the collection date from the early 18th Century and earlier, works by 20th century artists are predominant.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC