For many of us, summer means heading to the coast. Whether it’s the dramatic cliffs of Dorset, the sandy beaches of Cornwall or the familiar sight of a lighthouse on the horizon, Britain’s coastline has long been a place to pause, explore and reconnect with nature. Artists have been doing exactly that for centuries.  

The sea has offered inspiration, escape and adventure, but it has also reflected moments of uncertainty, change and resilience. In British Landscapes: A Sense of Place, the coast appears in many different forms, from peaceful holiday destinations to places shaped by memory, war and the forces of nature. 

Below are just a few of the coastal landscapes waiting to be discovered in the exhibition this summer.

One of the exhibition’s earliest coastal scenes was painted during one of the darkest chapters in modern history. 

In Near Swanage (1916), Mark Gertler depicts the Dorset coastline while staying in Swanage during the First World War. At first glance the painting feels peaceful, yet look a little longer and something begins to shift. The tightly compressed composition creates an underlying tension, suggesting that even the tranquillity of the landscape could not entirely escape the atmosphere of the time. 

Few artists were as captivated by Britain’s coastline as Paul Nash. Following the First World War, Nash spent long periods recovering in Dymchurch on the Kent coast. Rather than depicting an idyllic seaside resort, he became fascinated by its vast sea wall, empty promenades and expansive skies. 

In works including Strange Coast (1920), Untitled (Known as either ‘Tide’ or ‘The Tide’ or ‘The Bay’) (1920) and Promenade No. 2 (1923), the coast becomes something almost surreal. Strong geometric forms, dramatic contrasts and deserted spaces transform familiar scenery into landscapes filled with emotion and psychological depth. 

Later, in Peveril (Peveril Point, Dorset) (1934), Nash returned to another favourite coastal location. By the 1930s his work had become increasingly influenced by Surrealism, turning the distinctive headland into an almost dreamlike arrangement of shapes and colour.

Today, St Ives is recognised as one of Britain’s great artistic centres, but in the early 20th century its appeal lay in something much simpler. For artists seeking an alternative to city life, Cornwall offered extraordinary light and dramatic coastal scenery. 

Self-taught painter Alfred Wallis captured this world through instinct rather than academic training. Having worked as a fisherman, he painted boats, lighthouses and the Cornish coast from lived experience, often using scraps of cardboard and leftover boat paint. His direct, intuitive style would go on to captivate a generation of modern British artists. 

Christopher Wood was among them. In China Dogs in a St Ives Window (1926), painted after meeting Wallis in 1928, he combines a brightly coloured interior with a glimpse of the Cornish coastline beyond, including Godrevy Lighthouse. The work reflects Wallis’s influence in its simplified forms and bold use of colour while remaining unmistakably Wood’s own. 

David Jones preferred to observe the coastline from indoors. Both Terrace Overlooking the Sea (Terrace, Portslade, View from No.5) (1927), and Evening Sea, Portslade, (View from No.5) (1929) were painted from his parents’ rented seafront home near Brighton. Framed by the architecture of the house, these quiet views invite us to share the artist’s own perspective as he looked out towards the changing light and shifting water.

The result feels remarkably intimate, as though we’re standing beside him, watching the sea unfold beyond the window. 

By the 1960s, artists were becoming less interested in recording exactly what the coast looked like and more interested in conveying what it felt like to experience it. 

John Hubbard’s Coastal Landscape, Dorset (1967) is full of energetic brushwork and richly layered paint that evokes the movement, light and changing atmosphere of the Dorset coast. Rather than offering a recognisable view, the painting immerses us in the rhythms and energy of the landscape itself. 

Barbara Hepworth approached the coast differently still. After moving to St Ives during the Second World War, the Cornish landscape became central to her sculpture. Although Single Form (Nocturne) (1968) isn’t a landscape in the traditional sense, its flowing curves reflect Hepworth’s lifelong fascination with the sea, the rhythms of the landscape and the ancient standing stones of Cornwall. The sculpture invites viewers to look through its opening, framing the space beyond and reminding us that our experience of place is always shaped by the way we choose to look. 

Whether they found solace after war, sought creative freedom on the Cornish coast or simply captured the changing light on the sea, these artists reveal that Britain’s coastline is far more than a beautiful backdrop. It is a place of memory, imagination and constant transformation. 

This summer, discover these remarkable works and many more in British Landscapes: A Sense of Place, where coastlines, countryside and city streets come together to tell the story of how artists have experienced Britain over the last 200 years.