The Lost Trees explores the emotional and environmental significance of particular trees that have triggered a personal and community sense of loss. The exhibition features both those that are well-known and some without a name.
Trees hold symbolic power. From sacred Druids’ groves to the oak that hid Charles II during the Civil War, they appear across our history as witnesses and participants. They offer continuity, shade, and shelter – and remind us of timescales beyond our own.
Each painting in The Lost Trees serves as a visual record and uplifting memorial, highlighting the role trees play in shaping memory, identity and place. These trees have stood as landmarks in people’s lives – markers of daily routines, seasons, histories, and community spaces. Some, like The Cubbington Pear, The Happy Man, or Sycamore Gap, became rallying points for public campaigns and environmental protests. Others were lost without formal recognition, their felling quietly felt by those who knew them.
Whether celebrated or overlooked, trees quietly anchor us in place and time.
This is a collaborative project that honours trees as living landmarks, fragile but enduring. Each of these trees has an accompanying story – some offered, some requested, some known to all of us. Each reflects on how people connect with the natural world, and how that connection becomes especially clear when a tree is threatened or removed.
Trees are landmarks in our lives. This is a project about honouring them, and the importance they hold for all of us.
Free
Free
