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Looking to Sea: Britain Through the Eyes of its Artists
An alternative history of modern Britain, Looking to Sea is an exquisite work of cultural, artistic and philosophical storytelling.
Looking to Sea considers ten pivotal artworks, from Vanessa Bell's Studland Beach, one of the first modernist paintings in Britain, to Paul Nash's work bearing the scars of his experience in the trenches and Martin Parr's photographs of seaside resorts in the 1980s, which raised controversial questions of class. Each of the startlingly different pieces, created between 1912 and 2015, opens a window onto big ideas, from modernism and the sublime, the impact of the world wars and colonialism, to issues crucial to our world today like the environment and nationhood.
In this astonishingly perceptive portrait of the twentieth century, art critic Lily Le Brun brings a fresh eye to a vast idea, offering readers an imaginative new way of seeing our island nation.
'Le Brun's writing is at once bold and delicate, far-reaching and fine-tuned. Her book explores the inexhaustible variety of human perception.' Alexandra Harris
'A smart and clear-eyed set of meditations on marine gaze, made with a painterly touch worthy of the chosen artists. Empathy and intelligence lift memoir into cultural history.' Iain Sinclair
Looking to Sea considers ten pivotal artworks, from Vanessa Bell's Studland Beach, one of the first modernist paintings in Britain, to Paul Nash's work bearing the scars of his experience in the trenches and Martin Parr's photographs of seaside resorts in the 1980s, which raised controversial questions of class. Each of the startlingly different pieces, created between 1912 and 2015, opens a window onto big ideas, from modernism and the sublime, the impact of the world wars and colonialism, to issues crucial to our world today like the environment and nationhood.
In this astonishingly perceptive portrait of the twentieth century, art critic Lily Le Brun brings a fresh eye to a vast idea, offering readers an imaginative new way of seeing our island nation.
'Le Brun's writing is at once bold and delicate, far-reaching and fine-tuned. Her book explores the inexhaustible variety of human perception.' Alexandra Harris
'A smart and clear-eyed set of meditations on marine gaze, made with a painterly touch worthy of the chosen artists. Empathy and intelligence lift memoir into cultural history.' Iain Sinclair
- GenresArtNonfiction
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 3, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 10, 2025
Is Lily Le Brun related to the artist Elizabeth Le Brun by any chance? 🤔
July 5, 2024
Not just a phenomenal, engaging, nuanced book on art history, but also a moving journey through the last 100 years of British history. I picked this up on a whim while visiting the Tate St. Ives this spring and am so glad I did! It enriched my memories of Cornwall and will definitely impact future visits to the Island of Britain.
May 27, 2025
An engagingly written, carefully curated account of essays on art, history and nature that combine for a fascinating narrative. I really enjoyed the eclectic selection of art pieces that the author chose to include - much more surprising than I expected, and I learnt a lot in the process. Very enjoyable!
February 3, 2023
I absolutely adored this book. A series of thoughtful essays about British artists and their relationship with the sea/coastline. Each chapter focuses on one particular artwork in the main but the essays use this as a jumping off point for a far more detailed and thoughtful exploration of their work as a whole. From Paul Nash to Stanley Spencer and Tracey Emin to Alfred Wallace this is fascinating.
March 13, 2023
A fascinating and beautifully written book
November 1, 2024
What’s that quote? The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea. Or a book about the sea. Followed by another book.
March 1, 2026
3.5 stars.
This book features 10 artists that utilize different mediums like paint (including literal boat paint), photography, and performance art and uses them as a way to explore their country's history. This is a very cool angle to come from, and Brun does a great job weaving in their personal histories and art evolution to the geographical elements that surrounded and inspired them. Even with the small roster, Brun managed to tackle several perspectives and philosophical questions with nuance and care.
With that being said though, I wish it went deeper or atleast contained more people to further strengthen its content. It did feel like it missed the extra backing needed for its points by sticking to only talking about the artist in question as much as possible, which will inevitably be limiting. The last chapter that talks about John Akomfrah gave me a taste of where this could go, but even then it felt like it was holding itself back somewhat (it also was lacking a non-human perspective regarding his messaging). I would very much welcome the prospect of a sequel that builds upon the foundations this debut laid out.
This book features 10 artists that utilize different mediums like paint (including literal boat paint), photography, and performance art and uses them as a way to explore their country's history. This is a very cool angle to come from, and Brun does a great job weaving in their personal histories and art evolution to the geographical elements that surrounded and inspired them. Even with the small roster, Brun managed to tackle several perspectives and philosophical questions with nuance and care.
With that being said though, I wish it went deeper or atleast contained more people to further strengthen its content. It did feel like it missed the extra backing needed for its points by sticking to only talking about the artist in question as much as possible, which will inevitably be limiting. The last chapter that talks about John Akomfrah gave me a taste of where this could go, but even then it felt like it was holding itself back somewhat (it also was lacking a non-human perspective regarding his messaging). I would very much welcome the prospect of a sequel that builds upon the foundations this debut laid out.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews