PRESS R ELEASE
19 March 2015
How generations of monarchs, from Henry VIII to Queen Victoria, have prized their gardens
Previously unseen watercolours of royal gardens go on display at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
As public statements of power and status, or private expressions of love and family life, gardens have held different meanings for generations of kings and queens, from Henry VIII to Queen Victoria. Images of royal gardens at official residences and private homes, including a number of previously unseen watercolours of Sandringham, Osborne and Frogmore House, will go on display in a new exhibition opening at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace tomorrow (Friday, 20 March).
From spectacular panoramic paintings to jewel-like manuscripts and detailed botanical studies, Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden brings together more than 150 works of art from the Royal Collection to explore the garden's enduring appeal for artists from the 16th to the early 20th century. Exhibition highlights include works by Rembrandt van Rijn and Carl Fabergé, a colourful Victorian glass chandelier entwined with flowers, and an elaborate 18th-century Sunflower Clock.
It was Henry VIII (1491–1547) who first used the garden for propaganda, viewing it as a status symbol through which he could express power over his rivals. The painting The Family of Henry VIII, c.1545 shows the King's Great Garden at Whitehall Palace and is the first time a real garden is shown in British art. In the 16th century, royal garden rivalry reached its zenith, when the French and English kings competed to produce increasingly large and elaborate horticultural creations. Louis XIV's gardens at Versailles are recorded in a panoramic view by Jean-Baptiste Martin, c.1700, and William III's impressive gardens at Hampton Court in A View of Hampton Court, by Leonard Knyff, c.1702–14.
The curious fashion for resident hermits in gardens was adopted by Queen Charlotte (1744- 1818), consort of George III. A watercolour of Frogmore House in Windsor Home Park shows the Hermitage designed by Princess Elizabeth, Queen Charlotte's third eldest daughter in 1797. It had an interior lined with moss and was 'furnished with such accommodation as a recluse may be supposed to want', although in reality no hermit ever came to stay.
For Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and Prince Albert (1819–1861) the garden was an essential part of family life, particularly at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. A previously unseen watercolour by the Queen's drawing master William Leighton Leitch, painted in 1851, shows the newly built Osborne fronted by fashionable displays of colourful bedding plants, including geraniums, petunias, verbenas and lobelias. Another illustration by the same artist from 1855 shows the little garden plots where Prince Albert encouraged his children to learn horticultural skills and grow flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.royalcollection.org.uk
Some of the rare aquatic birds acquired by Prince Albert for the garden at Buckingham Palace can be seen in a watercolour by Caleb Robert Stanley, c.1845. The painting, on display for the first time, shows the Palace lake, with Prince Albert and Queen Victoria on the island at the centre, and nurses and a footman on the bank to the right. From the 1860s onwards, the Palace garden has been the setting for royal Garden Parties. One marking the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 is recorded in a painting by the Danish painter Laurits Tuxen.
Royal gardens also served a more practical purpose. King Edward VII (1841–1910) when Prince of Wales created a huge 14-acre kitchen garden at Sandringham House in Norfolk to meet the culinary demands of large weekend parties. The imposing new approach to the garden created in 1905 – a massive pergola swathed in roses, honeysuckle and clematis – is shown in a watercolour by Cyril Ward dated c.1912.
Exhibition curator, Vanessa Remington of Royal Collection Trust, says, 'The exhibition tells the story of how gardens have developed over time and of the many ways in which they have been valued by their royal owners. From the practical manuals they read to the botanical images they collected, and most of all from the many beautiful images of royal gardens, we can gain a real sense of how each generation of the royal family created their own corner of Paradise.'
Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden is at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, 20 March – 11 October 2015.
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The accompanying publication, Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden by Vanessa Remington is published by Royal Collection Trust, price £45.00 or £29.95 from Royal Collection Trust shops.
Visitor information and tickets for The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace: www.royalcollection.org.uk, T. +44 (0)20 7766 7301.
A selection of images is available from www.picselect.com. For further information and photographs, please contact the Royal Collection Trust Press Office, +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected].
Notes to Editors
Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household, is responsible for the care of the Royal Collection and manages the public opening of the official residences of The Queen. Income generated from admissions and from associated commercial activities contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational programmes. Royal Collection Trust’s work is undertaken without public funding of any kind.
The Royal Collection is among the largest and most important art collections in the world, and one of the last great European royal collections to remain intact. It comprises almost all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, and is spread among some 13 royal residences and former residences across the UK, most of which are regularly open to the public. The Royal Collection
Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.royalcollection.org.uk
is held in trust by the Sovereign for her successors and the nation, and is not owned by The Queen as a private individual.
Admission to The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace is managed by The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity in England and Wales (1016972) and in Scotland (SCO39772).
Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.royalcollection.org.uk