Capability Brown and the Landscapes of Middle England

About the
exhibition

Set in its own ‘Capability’ Brown landscape, Compton Verney was the ideal location for the first-ever exhibition about internationally-renowned landscape designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-83).

This exhibition brought the man and his genius to life through a series of case studies of ‘Capability’ Brown landscapes from the Midlands. It looked at how Brown designed his natural, neoclassical arcadias; how his landscapes were designed to work in practice; how Brown responded to technological advances in shooting and carriage-making; and how he addressed the enormous task of moving tons of earth and creating hills, vales and lakes in an age before tractors or JCBs.

The focus was on famous ‘Capability’ Brown landscapes in the Midlands region, including Croome, Charlecote Park, Weston Park, Coombe Abbey and of course Compton Verney itself. It will showcase the very latest research on the design and use of Georgian landscapes with paintings, maps, accounts, historic guns, manuals and specially-commissioned photography.

The exhibition was curated by Compton Verney’s Director, Georgian expert Dr Steven Parissien, and Professor Tim Mowl, Director of the Landscape and Garden History Centre at the University of Bristol and founding author of Redcliffe Press’s county guides to the Historic Gardens of Britain.