The painted garden - Penelope Hobhouse

This is a collection of Victorian and Edwardian garden paintings of the period 1850 to 1914 - the only time in English art that a group of professional artists devoted themselves entirely to painting gardens and formed the only school of English garden painters. Nearly all of them were watercolour artists.;Masters such as George Elgood and Ernest Rowe portray the beauty and elegance of the great gardens in Britain, while other painters, including Helen Allingham and Margaret Waterfield, capture the colour and atmosphere of the cottage gardens. The great houses figure in many of the paintings too and Bickling Hall, Hampton Court, Hever Castle and Hatfield House all provide backgrounds to their flowers, trees and lawns.;Penelope Hobhouse, gardening writer, summarizes the Victorian and Edwardian approach to garden design and upkeep, and describes for each garden in turn what can be seen in the pictures and what is still present today.;Christopher Wood describes the art of the period and puts it into historical context before introducing each one of the major painters featured in the book.;Penelope Hobhouse has written for "The Sunday Times", "The Observer" and "The Garden" and her books include "The National Trust: A Book of Gardening".;Christopher Wood specializes in art of the Victorian period. He has written books and articles and has lectured widely in Great Britain and the United States.