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Drawn to Nature: Gilbert White and the Artists
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.
Distributed for Pallant House Gallery
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.
Distributed for Pallant House Gallery
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 5, 2023
A lovely, lovely book full of beautiful pictures. Unless you collect editions of The Natural History of Selborne (and people do, of course) you'll probably never have seen many of these illustrations, and it's delightful to have them gathered together in this book, which is itself beautifully designed.
From the original images commissioned by GW himself to those Martin commissioned for the exhibition at Pallant House Gallery for the tri-centennial (sadly affected by the 'rona) it's full of wonderful illustrations including lots by Ravillious and Nash. Properly charming. I recieved this as a gift and if you're looking for something to buy someone who is interested in a) GW b) Hampshire c) nature d) illustraton or all of the above you won't go far wrong.
From the original images commissioned by GW himself to those Martin commissioned for the exhibition at Pallant House Gallery for the tri-centennial (sadly affected by the 'rona) it's full of wonderful illustrations including lots by Ravillious and Nash. Properly charming. I recieved this as a gift and if you're looking for something to buy someone who is interested in a) GW b) Hampshire c) nature d) illustraton or all of the above you won't go far wrong.
September 10, 2022
A delightful and special book. Through his writing, Gilbert White's observations of nature have traveled through the imaginations of many generations of artists and photographers, each of whom crafted their own vision of his world. This book collects some of those images, along with backstories of the artists and some essays and poems about attentiveness to nature. I'm particularly happy that this book introduced me to the art of Gertrude Hermes and Claire Oldham. Overall it's awe-inspiring to see how a small snippet of countryside is the setting of so many scenes - some befuddling, some heartwarming, some chilling - that can be envisioned in so many ways.
December 7, 2023
Knižka, ktorá vznikla na základe výstavy človeka, o ktorom som síce ja v živote nepočula, ale v UK mal vraj asi tretiu najpredávanejšiu knihu ever. Gilbert White bol "farár-naturalista" 18.storočia, ktorý prežil takmer celý život na fare v mestečku Selborne, iba pár kilometrov od domu, kde žila Jane Austen (cca 18 rokov sa tam dokonca mohli stretnúť presne v tom istom čase).
Fascinovala ho okolitá príroda (hlavne vtáky), mal neskutočný zmysel pre detaily a možno sa ním inšpiroval aj Charles Darwin pri svojej vedeckej práci.
Kniha pozostáva z ilustrácií, ktoré vznikali k jeho jedinej knihe počas storočí. Najviac ma zaujala Gertrude Hermes, musím si o nej nájsť viac info (kniha jej ilustrácií stojí asi 500 libier, keby neviete čo mi na Vianoce). Inak kúpená úplne náhodou, poradili nám ju v Bookz&Booze v Antwerpách k belgickej whiskey.
Inak príjemné (aj vizuálne) čítanie to bolo. Zišlo sa, po greenwashing a Vietnam war knihách...
Fascinovala ho okolitá príroda (hlavne vtáky), mal neskutočný zmysel pre detaily a možno sa ním inšpiroval aj Charles Darwin pri svojej vedeckej práci.
Kniha pozostáva z ilustrácií, ktoré vznikali k jeho jedinej knihe počas storočí. Najviac ma zaujala Gertrude Hermes, musím si o nej nájsť viac info (kniha jej ilustrácií stojí asi 500 libier, keby neviete čo mi na Vianoce). Inak kúpená úplne náhodou, poradili nám ju v Bookz&Booze v Antwerpách k belgickej whiskey.
Inak príjemné (aj vizuálne) čítanie to bolo. Zišlo sa, po greenwashing a Vietnam war knihách...
January 20, 2022
This is a gloriously uplifting book. Drawn to Nature is both informative and beautifully produced, doing justice to the wonderful illustrations inspired during the close on 300 year history of Gilbert White's world-renowned book about Selborne and its surroundings. I am sure to revisit Drawn to Nature often - there are just so many wonderful illustrations to explore - and it has already prompted me to go in search of other work by the featured illustrators. What more can one ask of a book?! Congratulations to Simon Martin and the Pallant House Gallery for creating this gem. I only wish I had seen the exhibition!
March 9, 2024
What a lovely premise, a collection of images from the 1930's and 40's commissioned (largely) by one of Britain's earliest naturalists, White, focussed just on the one parish where he spent most of his life.
Unfortunately the writing in the first half of the book is a mish mash of topics, from poems, to semi biographical summaries to semi book reviews of the numerous reprints White made to brief mentions of artists.
The text is small, annoyingly heavily indented, old fashioned in tone and repetitive. Sometimes illustrations are described, often not.
The second half of the book includes wonderful illustrations, mostly larger (and repeated) than the first half of the book.
Unfortunately, the illustrations have minimal text. There is no context about the artist, explanation of the techniques or back story linking the work or the artist to Selbourne or White. The captions sometimes include brief text from Whites book, repeated earlier in the first half, but not referenced to it.
The reader has to find any text related to the image and create their own narrative or understanding. This may be the purpose of art galleries, but a book should do this heavy lifting.
It's such a shame the writing style is so clunky, disjointed from images and almost impenetrable at times. It's often unclear what the intent is of each chapter or section is. The story line or theme or thread of idea explored quickly evaporates.
I thought, this reads like a summary of what is known by a curator of arts. Then I checked Martin's credentials and yes, that's his profession. No wonder it reads like a research summary.
If only Simon could commission a writer to capture the style of the engaging introduction by our modern-day national treasure naturalist, Sir Attenborough.
Unfortunately the writing in the first half of the book is a mish mash of topics, from poems, to semi biographical summaries to semi book reviews of the numerous reprints White made to brief mentions of artists.
The text is small, annoyingly heavily indented, old fashioned in tone and repetitive. Sometimes illustrations are described, often not.
The second half of the book includes wonderful illustrations, mostly larger (and repeated) than the first half of the book.
Unfortunately, the illustrations have minimal text. There is no context about the artist, explanation of the techniques or back story linking the work or the artist to Selbourne or White. The captions sometimes include brief text from Whites book, repeated earlier in the first half, but not referenced to it.
The reader has to find any text related to the image and create their own narrative or understanding. This may be the purpose of art galleries, but a book should do this heavy lifting.
It's such a shame the writing style is so clunky, disjointed from images and almost impenetrable at times. It's often unclear what the intent is of each chapter or section is. The story line or theme or thread of idea explored quickly evaporates.
I thought, this reads like a summary of what is known by a curator of arts. Then I checked Martin's credentials and yes, that's his profession. No wonder it reads like a research summary.
If only Simon could commission a writer to capture the style of the engaging introduction by our modern-day national treasure naturalist, Sir Attenborough.
January 11, 2022
Wonderful illustrations and production. Text sometimes lapses into repetitiveness.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews