Old Somerset House from the River Thames, Giovanni Canaletto (c.1750). Lent from a private collection. Photo © Matthew Hollow Photography
View of a House and its Estate in Belsize, Middlesex, 1696, Jan Siberechts. Tate, Purchased with assistance from the Art Fund and the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1995. Photo: Tate
William Curtis Ecological Park next to Tower Bridge (1977-1985) © Jon May
William Curtis’s Botanic Garden, Lambeth Marsh, c.1787 by James Sowerby © Christie’s Images, Bridgeman Images
Paintings, prints, drawings, photographs and maps will bring these lost gardens to life, depicting changing trends and fashions in garden design while exploring London’s enduring love affair with nature, and how green spaces have always been a vital part of life in the capital.
In every borough, parks, gardens and green open spaces have succumbed to new roads, street-widenings, railway encroachments and new buildings, or have simply been swallowed up by suburbia. Accompanying public programmes will explore how the remaining green spaces that may be taken for granted in London today have survived thanks to protests, community action and legal protections being put in place. The exhibition is a timely reminder of the vulnerability of urban gardens and access to nature.
Lost Gardens of London coincides with a new book by Todd Longstaffe-Gowan of the same name, to be published by the Modern Art Press (and distributed by Yale University Press) in October 2024.
