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Planning to visit us this week? Here’s some tips to help you enjoy your visit during the heatwave

  • If you’d like to avoid the peak temperatures, we’ll be open from 10am – 5pm, Wed 24 – Sun 28 Jun
  • The shuttle bus will be running throughout the week, going between the Welcome Centre and the galleries/café
  • The galleries are climate-controlled, take your time exploring the art collections and exhibitions in the cool
  • The woodland area by the lake provides plenty of shade 
  • You can top up your water with our free water station in the café
  • Cold drinks and ice creams can be purchased at both the Welcome Centre and café

Mary Newcomb:

Nature's Canvas

18 May 2021 – 5 September 2021

About the
exhibition

Natural scientist, farmer and artist, Mary Newcomb’s (1922-2008) life and art were rooted in everyday observation and the natural world. Featuring over fifty works, displayed alongside extracts from her writing and work by the artists that inspired her, Mary Newcomb: Nature’s Canvas was the most extensive survey of her work ever.

A self-taught artist who settled in rural East Anglia, Newcomb developed a unique visual language and poetic vision closely aligned with her writing. She was championed by art dealer Andras Kalman (the original collector of Compton Verney’s British Folk Art collection), who encouraged her to keep a diary. On New Year’s Day 1986, Newcomb wrote: ‘I wanted … to remind ourselves that – in our haste – in this century – we may not give time to pause and look – and may pass on our way unheeding.’

Deeply engrossed in the rituals of the unfolding seasons and the countryside around her, Newcomb’s beautiful and subtle art and writing foregrounds the pleasures of slow looking, and speaks to the deep connections we all make with nature.

In association with Crane Kalman Gallery, London

Banner image: Mary Newcomb, The lady with a bunch of sweet williams, 1988 © Mary Newcomb Estate