A new exhibition from Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales exploring the art of the British landscape over four centuries will offer audiences in the US a rare opportunity to experience this peculiarly British art form.

More than 80 works, including major oil paintings, will be seen alongside works on paper drawn from the Museum’s collection of drawings, photographs and watercolours.

Pastures Green & Dark Satanic Mills will include works by many artists from Britain and beyond who found inspiration in the British landscape including Thomas Gainsborough, Joseph Wright of Derby, Richard Wilson, Augustus John, John Constable, J. M. W. Turner, Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet, and Oskar Kokoschka.

Charing Cross Bridge Claude Monet

The tour begins this December and opens at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida on 23 December 2014 to 5 April 2015 and then will move on to Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 7 May to 2 August 2015,
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah from 27 August to 13 December 2015 and finally Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey from 23 January to 24 April 2016.

Organised by Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales in partnership with the American Federation of Arts (AFA), the exhibition comprises paintings, drawings and photographs selected from Wales’ national art collection most of which have never been seen in the US before.

It is curated by Tim Barringer – Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University, and Oliver Fairclough – Keeper of Art, Amgueddfa Cymru.

Paintings in the exhibition go back to the 1600s and span the age of the Industrial Revolution to the 19th century, to the postmodern and post-industrial present.

While featuring some great masterpieces from Amgueddfa Cymru’s collection, the exhibition will also offer new insights into the development of landscape painting in Wales as well as into British art and culture more broadly.

“We are delighted to be able to present this important exhibition on British landscape painting to four venues in the US, offering visitors the chance to see these magnificent works of art for the first time,” said David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru.

“This is the second occasion that Amgueddfa Cymru has partnered with the American Federation of Arts, following the highly successful 2009-10 North American tour of ‘Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection’.

“This international partnership will give American audiences the chance to learn more about British painting and the Welsh landscape, through works selected entirely from Wales’ national art collection.

Ken Skates, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, said: “I am delighted that this prestigious exhibition will be touring in the U.S. Our arts bodies and museums do a great deal to boost tourism and raise the profile of Wales in the world. Building on the success of the recent Davies Sisters’ tour, this latest exhibition promises to showcase Wales to new audiences.”

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