The Art of the Twentieth Century Garden
The twentieth century saw technological and social change on an unprecedented scale. Global conflict, the breakdown of sexual and social norms, the collapse of old institutions, and the emergence of new technologies led to the rise of urgent and exciting movements in art, such as modernism, surrealism, pop art, and conceptual art.
Against this complex backdrop, what place did the garden find in the work of visual artists of the twentieth century? If the garden shifted away from being an exclusive, pastoral idyll for the privileged few towards something more accessible and democratised, what did this mean in terms of its representation in art?
Including works by, amongst others, Eric Ravilious, Eileen Agar, Duncan Grant, Cedric Morris, Winifred Nicholson, Edwina Sandys, Frances Hodgkins, Ivor Abrahams, Sarah Jones, and Tracy Emin, this talk will show how – across its representation in painting, photography, printmaking, and drawing – the garden was not solely a source of beauty and inspiration, but emerged as a rich, compelling metaphorical space for psychological, sexual, and emotional ex
The talk will explore the intersection between science and art, and how the private suburban garden and municipal public garden became increasingly important spaces. It will examine, too, how despite or because of increasing urbanisation, the act of nurturing and tending a garden in a period where so much was being torn down and redrawn has much to say to us in our current turbulent times.
Rachel Giles is the author of Bloom: Art, Flowers and Emotion, published by Tate. The two main loves of her life are books and flowers. In terms of books, she writes them, edits them, or helps other people to create them. Most recently, she helped the designer Thomas Heatherwick publish his design manifesto, Humanise: A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World. On the flowers side, she is a passionate floral designer and flower grower and exhibited a William Morris-inspired unicorn at the Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival in 2025.
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The twentieth century saw technological and social change on an unprecedented scale. Global conflict, the breakdown of sexual and social norms, the collapse of old institutions, and the emergence of new technologies led to the rise of urgent and exciting movements in art, such as modernism, surrealism, pop art, and conceptual art.
Against this complex backdrop, what place did the garden find in the work of visual artists of the twentieth century? If the garden shifted away from being an exclusive, pastoral idyll for the privileged few towards something more accessible and democratised, what did this mean in terms of its representation in art?
Including works by, amongst others, Eric Ravilious, Eileen Agar, Duncan Grant, Cedric Morris, Winifred Nicholson, Edwina Sandys, Frances Hodgkins, Ivor Abrahams, Sarah Jones, and Tracy Emin, this talk will show how – across its representation in painting, photography, printmaking, and drawing – the garden was not solely a source of beauty and inspiration, but emerged as a rich, compelling metaphorical space for psychological, sexual, and emotional ex
The talk will explore the intersection between science and art, and how the private suburban garden and municipal public garden became increasingly important spaces. It will examine, too, how despite or because of increasing urbanisation, the act of nurturing and tending a garden in a period where so much was being torn down and redrawn has much to say to us in our current turbulent times.
Rachel Giles is the author of Bloom: Art, Flowers and Emotion, published by Tate. The two main loves of her life are books and flowers. In terms of books, she writes them, edits them, or helps other people to create them. Most recently, she helped the designer Thomas Heatherwick publish his design manifesto, Humanise: A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World. On the flowers side, she is a passionate floral designer and flower grower and exhibited a William Morris-inspired unicorn at the Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival in 2025.
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