The Pastoral and the Sublime

Vast, desolate and dramatic landscapes are shown alongside vistas of inhabited, peaceful countryside in this display of works on paper by British artists from 1780 to 1880.

This charming display showcases three stunning watercolours by Birmingham-born artist David Cox, recently donated to the gallery, as well as superb watercolours, drawings and prints by Gainsborough, Turner and Constable, among others. Th e display explores the ways 19th century British artists treated two contrasting views of the outside world: charming and familiar pastoral scenes, and extreme, tumultuous, even terrifying, visions of nature –the Sublime.